Dear Lady Disdain
by goshdarnypooh
Summary: They were happily married. The perfect suburban family on the surface. Then Bella disappeared leaving his family in shambles and in a desperate hunt to discover her whereabouts. Now living in Chicago as an SVU officer, Bella is confronted by the past. -AH
1. Are You Yet Living?

**a/n: ****Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine. This chapter is shorter then most will be, but it is setting the stage for the story.  
**

_Benedick: "What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living?" Beatrice: "Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence." __Much Ado About Nothing (1.1.118-23)_

**Chapter 1 – Are You Yet Living**

Bella had anticipated a calm night. She had no bedtimes to adhere to, no early morning shift, and no responsibilities for a whole twelve hours. The anticipation of normalcy kept her motivated all week, especially since she did not have the dreaded night shift on Halloween. Without a doubt her worst cases of the entire year manifested on that night, and it shouldn't surprise her anymore.

The Halloween after she graduated from the academy had been the worst. She and her first partner were amongst the first to respond to an exceptionally gruesome scene. A husband had gone mad and assumed his wife was cheating on him with their neighbor across the street. When Bella arrived to the townhouse she was met with a woman who paramedics were trying to stabilize. The husband had done all he could to mutilate her figure, and the flesh on her face was bruised and cut, and a stab wound on her arm appeared to be bleeding through the bandage put in place to assist with the clotting.

The emergency call was placed by her nine-year-old son, whom Bella found sobbing in his closet while clutching his knees and rocking back and forth. After assuring the boy that she was going to keep him safe while the paramedics took his mother to the hospital. It was only after she coxed him out of the closet that the bruises on his body became visible in the dim light of his bedroom. Once she had him safely away from the house, he was comfortable telling Bella how he found a scary man wearing a joker's mask hitting his mom. He jumped in to help and the man beat him until his mother diverted his attention back to her. Trying to explain to the little boy that his father would not be coming to get him was difficult to say the least. How to explain that the man with the joker's mask was really his father went outside Bella's training.

The worst part was that the man across the street turned out to be a seventy-six year old paraplegic woman. The mother would visit and keep her company since the elderly woman's children could not be bothered to look in after her. The husband had been so delusional when he had his court date that he kept insisting that the old woman was really wearing a "padded saggy bra" and had "man parts under there" all the while maintaining his wife was a cheating bitch.

Bella as the officer assigned to the case took the witness stand and looked sadly to the middle of the courtroom and saw the wife clutching a friend's hand while her right arm remained limp and useless at her side. Several reconstructive surgeries had done little to reclaim her once beautiful face. The wife's eyes were glazed over and withdrawn, simply trying to cope.

As a special victim's officer, Bella saw more cases like this, and sadly became slight desensitized to the sight of women, and occasionally men that sat in the courtroom watching their perpetrators stand trial. The desensitizing was not apathy, Bella knew that if she ever became apathetic it was time to quit her job—no this was how she dealt with the emotional rigors of her job. If she did not remove herself to a certain degree, she was sure to follow her first partner's path and suffer an emotional breakdown. Bella was well aware of the effects of mentally shutting down, and she had too many responsibilities to fall into that place ever again, especially with a responsibility that was more valuable then her own life.

This Halloween was the first she had off, and Bella simply blocked the cases from her mind and enjoy this bit of normalcy with her small group of friends. Well, friends was a bit of stretch. The group of ladies that Bella was surrounded by on this particular evening were more like acquaintances who were determined to push her back into the world. Most were women Bella either worked with, or spouses of her colleagues. They took it upon themselves to force her into joining them for a 'ladies night' that included dinner and tickets to a local theater groups opening night production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Although none of the women would come out and state it, most were utterly confused how a beautiful and intelligent woman such as Bella could find herself so utterly focused on work and seemingly nothing else.

Truthfully the acquaintances knew very little about the reclusive Bella, and this was their opportunity to drag it out of her. Some wanted to know about where she moved from. Bella's standard answer applied,

"A small town in Washington State," Realizing that was a dead end, another contingency group asked the question they had been dying to know, whether Bella was single. She certainly did not have a ring on her finger, although in her line of work it was not always a good idea to flaunt shiny jewelry around criminals so it was not an absolute indicator of her marital status.

"Yes," was Bella's simple reply. This contingency quickly went into action trying to convince her to accept a call from a friend of theirs who they knew would be perfectly suited for someone as good-looking and successful as Bella.

"I will give Marc your number, you two would have such a good time! Please say you will go out with him," when Bella gave a non-committal shoulder shrug the women looked disappointed. They ordered a few more drinks to loosen Bella up an asked her again, to which she lazily replied,

"Sure, why not," the contingency squealed, and one immediately texted Marc Bella's phone number. She also included a picture she snuck while Bella was not paying attention and laughing politely at a joke the waiter made had he brought yet another round of drinks to the table.

Marc's reply was almost instantaneous and asked when he thought they would be done for the evening because he most certainly wanted to give Bella a call as soon as she was free. He even debated meeting them at the theatre to introduce himself that evening, but thought that might appear a little desperate. The text reply he received moments later confirmed his assessment and suggested he wait until the morning to contact his new love interest.

Despite the obvious prying into Bella's personal life, she was having an enjoyable evening with women who made her feel welcomed into their circle, if only to dig up some gossip on her.

A short walk from the restaurant brought the women to a small, but well kept community theatre. The patrons were dressed well, but not in the lavish garments of the more prestigious playhouses in town. This made Bella feel entirely more comfortable. She was never one to dress up in fancy dresses; she simply did not have the aptitude to pull together an ensemble acceptable for those types of circumstances. Although this evening she was rather proud of the simple black dress and pumps she put together. Certainly not a fashion statement, but she thought it suited her.

Bella also enjoyed watching the Shakespearian comedy. Admittedly, she was more familiar with the playwright's classic tragedies, having been force-fed the likes of Romeo and Juliet in 11th grade English. However, the humor of mistaken identities and underestimating characters of Much Ado connected well to the family and friends she had left behind when she moved to Chicago. For the first time in a long time, Bella felt as if she could laugh at her own precarious situation. Shakespeare was so brilliant that he was able to create and mend problems in less than three hours and an intermission, while Bella was still trying to mull through her own chaotic life after five years.

The play ended and while they made their way outside of the theatre the women chatted about the characters and how well the showing performed in comparison to other productions they had seen. Bella was intently listening as one of her colleagues described her vacation to London with her husband where they saw the same play with an all female cast at the reproduction Globe Theatre. She was in the midst of praising the female Benedict, when her story was interrupted by a man running toward their group, waving his hands frantically, and shouting.

"Bella! Bella, is that you?" Bella turned around as the bronze haired man approached the group while maneuvering around the crowd of people who had just exited the theatre.

Some of the women gasped at the gorgeous specimen coming toward them. His lean body, while covered by a coat to keep out the night chill, fit him like a glove showing off his broad shoulders and well-built abdominal muscles. His velvet voice hypnotized the unsuspecting women, and had Bella not been trained and practiced as a special victim's officer, she too may have let her guard down.

As the man approached the women, he came within feet of his target, "Bella, it is you—," the statement still ringing in the chilled air as Bella pulled pepper spray from her purse and directed the can directly at his face before kicking him away using her body's leverage as she had been taught at the academy and taking off into a sprint down the sidewalk.

The half of the group that worked with Bella in the special victim's unit followed after her to make sure she was not going to be physically harmed. After all, despite the man's obviously gorgeous looks, their instinct was to ignore the charm and look out for the welfare of the 'victim'. They had seen firsthand how even gorgeous men could become tyrants.

Meanwhile the other half of the group composed of Bella's male colleagues' wives stayed behind with the charming man who lay at their feet in a semi-blind state. The lady who sent Marc the text message earlier in the evening knelt by his side and tried to determine if he was injured. Stranger-danger and husband be damned, this man needed her undivided attention.

"Sir, are you alright?" she asked while flaunting a bit of her cleavage at the man. Of course the matter that he could not see since the pepper spray was still impairing his vision did not prevent her flirting.

"Is Bella still here?" the bronze headed dream of a man asked while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, she ran down the street sweetie,"

"Do you have her phone number, anyway to contact her that you could give to me?" he asked blinking repeatedly while his eyes continued to tear up and attempt to expel the poison that was hindering his vision.

"How do you know Bella?" the women finally let her senses kick in and momentarily ignored his physical assets to protect her newfound friend.

The coppered haired man sighed while pulling out a handkerchief from his coat pocket to wipe water from his eyes before looking up at the women knelt around him. His emerald green eyes met each of them before he spoke the words out loud that none of them expected to hear. The women had seemingly extracted all of highlights of Bella's personal life earlier in the evening over bottles of cheap restaurant wine, they were certain that nothing he could say would be of consequence. That is until he said four little bewildering words.

"Bella is my wife."

Down the street Bella had already hailed a cab and her brand new friends crowded in with her as they started barking out home addresses to the driver. At first none of the women even mentioned the incident they just witnessed outside the theatre. Finally the question broke the air, and although Bella was not sure who actually asked it since everything was fogging together in her mind, she imagined that the group collectively asked the question.

"Bella, who is he?"

Bella's colleagues felt the new openness that she had displayed earlier in the evening should privilege them with additional information. Although she was on the short side of the height spectrum and remained thin, with more curves then her late teens, Bella was still a force to be reckoned with.

One of the ladies in the cab had seen Bella when she was on duty pursue a perpetrator who was still hiding out in a victim's home. The man had made the fatal error of taking off on foot through the home's front door while Bella made an aerial move off the front porch, body slamming the two-hundred pounds-and-counting man to the ground before using a tazer to subdue him and hoisting his dead weight back to her squad car. Bella simply tossed him into her backseat, shut the door, and smoothed out her hair as a wayward curl escaped the ponytail. She calmly walked back toward the house to assure the victim her attacker was in custody before informing her superior officer who was still investigating the scene that she was taking off to the station with the, "perp's sorry ass" in her backseat.

By any stretch of the imagination the well groomed man who had tried to gain her attention outside of the theatre posed little physical threat to Bella, and her colleague could only ascertain that his presence took on a more emotional toll for her friend.

Starring out the cab window into the oncoming traffic, Bella took a deep breath and held it before letting out the air slowly. She recognized the symptoms her body was displaying as shock, and she took another deep breath to calm her voice before answering the question that was on everyone's mind, _who is he_?

"The worst possible asshole."

Yes, Bella had anticipated a quiet night filled with drinks and entertainment. A night such as this was a rare occurrence in her life, but not extraordinary. Even if a psychic had told her, she would have never expected to see the ghosts of her past rise up and haunt her on this Halloween night.


	2. False, Disloyal Man

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine. This chapter is shorter than most will be, but it is setting the stage for the story.**

"Thou subtle, perjur'd, false, disloyal man!" ~**The Two Gentlemen of Verona**

Chapter 2 – False, Disloyal Man

Bella handed the cab driver some money through his plexiglas patrician wall. The rest of the women had been dropped off at their homes and Bella was the last to exit the cab. During the duration of the ride there had only been glaring stares but no more conversation. It was obvious to everyone, including the balding driver, that the discussion was over and Bella was sinking back into her reclusive self.

The apartment building the cab pulled away from was average in its demeanor. Brick façade lined the outside of the building with white trim around the windows and door frames. Although a rather simplistic design that mainly served function rather then decadence, Bella was pleased with her space. She put in the key code for the front entrance and walked up the stairs to her second floor apartment.

The neighborhood was as safe as could be expected in the suburbs of Chicago, and her neighbors were pleasant. A retired couple across the hall would occasionally ask her to stop by to play cribbage when her shifts at work allowed. At least once a week Bella would hear the glorious knock on her door and open it to be greeted by the couple inviting her to dinner. They looked after her but never pried into her personal life. Bella's father Charlie had expressed how pleased he was that she had someone looking out for her when he lived so far away.

Bella unlocked her door and stepped inside the small three bedroom apartment. The interior was sparsely decorated and furnished, but she was proud of how she pulled it together on her own. Setting her keys down on the entry table, she turned on a light in the living room and found a body out cold for the night on her couch. The soft snores echoed of the bare walls and Bella simply smiled before pulling off her black pumps and walking into the kitchen to grab a water bottle from the refrigerator.

The smile was not for the sleeping body on the couch as much as the face paint littering her face and the drool coming out of her mouth threatening to mess up the masterpiece. It was apparent that all was well and normal in the Swan residence this Halloween eve. Bella decided to leave the sleeping body be and started to go down the short hallway to her bedroom when a murmur stopped her movement.

"Early night Bells?"

Early was in the eye of the beholder to Bella. Often times her shift would run through the night. Daytime and nighttime blended together so symbiotically that if it was not for the occupants of her apartment she would not know when one day ended and another began.

"I suppose."

"Well, did you at least have fun?"

"By the looks of your face, I would say less fun then you," Leah sat up from her spot on the couch and lazily touched her hand to her face. In that moment the events of the evening flooded back to her and she threw out a low groan.

"Then your evening must have been pretty damn crappy," Leah rose from the couch and disappeared into the bathroom. She swore again into the mirror before grabbing a clean white hand towel and scrubbing her face. Bella walked in and closed the cover to the toilet seat before sitting down and slouching her elbows to her knees.

"Did she behave?"

"Yea, yea – I lost a little bit of my sanity when I agreed to face painting though. Damn kid has me wrapped around her little finger," Leah looked down at the blue and red paint mess now decorating the sink, "But you are going to clean this mess up."

Leah was obviously referring to the paints that were splattered all over the porcelain, but Bella was reminded of another mess that had now presented itself this evening. She knew Leah would be none too pleased to hear about the unexpected person reappearing into her life.

"Leah, there might be a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

Certainly a loaded question, but she knew that Leah deserved to know after everything she had done for her. Not everyone would have made the sacrifices she did for someone she barely knew. Leah was crass and made tactless comments all the time to just about anyone, but when she was approached to help Bella after she just about crumbled there was no hesitation.

Leah knew that she helped rebuild Bella into the strong and pigheaded woman she was today. Although glancing over her shoulder to see Bella still flopped over in defeat on the porcelain thrown, she worried there may be a slight regression.

"Bella, I asked you what problem?"

Forcing her head up Bella finally looked at Leah and a load of tears threatened to overflow her eyes. She pulled off a wad of toilet paper before blotting each tear duct and spoke in a quiet voice.

"I saw Edward outside of the theatre and he tried to talk to me."

"Fuck," Leah sat on the cheap linoleum floor and took a similar stance as Bella, "What did you do?"

"He came up to me and I used my pepper spray on him. I kicked him and then ran off."

"That's my girl!" Leah was pleased that her friend had not lost all of her spunk. It took her a long time to engrain Bella with the take-no-crap attitude that Leah so easily maintained.

The unsettled question that plagued both Leah and Bella was left unspoken. Edward Cullen was supposed to be attending medical school in Seattle. Some mystical force brought him to Chicago with a population of over 2.8 million notwithstanding the suburbs and landed him on the same sidewalk as Bella Swan. Leah never believed a lot of the mythical parts of her Native American heritage, but she suddenly gave credence to the fabled pull individuals can have toward one and another through the force of nature. Be that an attraction that will be mutually beneficial, or mutually destructive.

Leah's mother, Sue, would have been gloating if she had heard this concession. Of course she would never learn this revelation because Leah was too pigheaded to ever admit she was wrong.

Leah Clearwater had lived on the Quileute Reservation from the day of her birth to the day of her escape years ago. Her father, Harry, was a respected elder and tried to instill a sense of pride in his heritage with his children. Leah's younger brother, Seth, was a willing pupil. He loved the legends that his people were descended from wolves. The thought he was a protector of his people strengthened his young resolve and propelled him into learning all of the customs of his people. Harry and Sue Clearwater were pleased.

Leah rebuked the teachings of her past. Not at first, when she was younger she would go to tribal council meetings and watch the proceedings with vigorous interest. The sense of order and decorum thrilled her, and to an extent that still carried with her to her adulthood. The traditional ceremonies and superstition were what lost their appeal into her later teen years.

Like many stories of being jaded in life, Leah's centered on love lost. In her early teens she fell in love with the handsome, although notorious bad boy Sam Uley. He took her under his wing and made her adrenaline soar every time he drove his beat up truck into her driveway. Sue had been none too pleased with his constant presence, but when she tried to put a stop to the relationship, Leah went behind her back and secretly met up with Sam. He would repeatedly tell Leah that their heart and soul was connected in a way no other human beings could fathom. It was a gift from their ancestors that made two people so perfect for each other.

Leah shared herself wholly with Sam, basking in his warm embrace and strong arms. As the years pushed them toward adulthood, Leah granted him her most sacred gift. On a moonlight evening overlooking the bluffs of La Push beach Leah loved Sam so much that she allowed him to enter her body and consume everything that she could ever give him.

Three weeks later Sam began acting distant and aloof even when they performed the most intimate of acts. His erratic behavior was explained when he stopped at her door for the last time and announced that their four year relationship was over. She screamed at him and mocked their traditions because it was obvious that the bonds from their ancestors were only stupid tales. The love of her life left her sobbing as he took off with his mistress in his beat up pickup truck. After the break up, Sam and his mistress openly flaunted their relationship around the reservation, laughing communal events and relegating Leah to the shadows.

Harry told Leah that at his daughter, she was expected to participate in the wedding ceremony of Sam and his mistress. It was the first time in her life that Leah openly argued with her father and in no short order told him where he could stick his tribal position before spitting at his feet and storming out of her childhood home. To this day she could never understand how her family could be so insensitive to her heartbreak.

Of course, Leah would never even have the opportunity to apologize because Harry would die of a heart attack only a week later while she ran away from La Push and refused to answer her phone. Only when her meager savings ran out did she return home to find that she had missed her father's burial and the wedding of Sam to her cousin, and onetime best friend, Emily.

Sue and Seth were devastated that Leah had not been with them during their period of mourning. A great number in the tribe considered her actions shameful and pushed her further away for dishonoring her father. With nothing of consequence for her in La Push, Leah headed to Seattle to start over and pull away from the traditions that had taken her hostage.

She had just finished law school on loans and minority scholarships and had taken her first job in a small firm on the outskirts of Seattle when she received an unexpected phone call from a familiar person of her past.

"Leah Clearwater?"

"This is she, who is this?"

"Umm, it's Jacob Black," Leah pushed back her instinct to simply hang up the phone. Jacob had never really done anything to wrong her, and considering his father had been best friends with her own gave him plenty of ammunition. The fact he remained indifferent during the whole fiasco surrounding Sam boded well for him. She took his call.

"Why are you calling?" Although she accepted the call, she did not have to patronize him and the edge to her voice proved that is what she intended to do.

"Calm down there," he took a deep breath, "I see that we're not going to exchange pleasantries. Here's the deal—," Jacob launched himself into the story and Leah surprised herself by actually listening.

It took Jacob just under twenty minutes to explain the problem and what he needed. Leah only interrupted him a few times, and they were mainly points for clarification.

"It's an awful lot to ask, but I needed to give it a try. Do you think you can help her Leah?"

"I am positive I can," even fresh out of law school she was a cocky and confident woman. During her schooling she reinvented herself to become an independent and cold person. With those walls up there would be no one coming in to tear down her carefully created façade. Even now it was what made her an absolutely lethal predator in the court room, and also the reason she was so rarely inside of it. Her persuasion and reputation would often settle disputes long before they made it before a judge.

Five years ago Leah handed in her resignation for the small firm after only working with them for a grand total of two and a half weeks. She packed up her moving truck and drove down toward La Push area for what she hoped would be the last time in her life. Instead of turning on the country road to head to her childhood home, she took the literal fork in the road drove toward another offbeat location, the town of Forks.

She pulled into the driveway of a small two story home and made her way to the front door. After a few knocks she was greeted by a familiar middle aged man, scruffy beard and beer in hand.

"Good afternoon Chief Swan."

"Leah," he nodded his head before turning in and leaving Leah to let herself in.

"Bella!" Charlie yelled up the stairs, "Leah's here!"

Charlie walked toward the living room before reappearing with a large cardboard box. He silently walked out the front door and deposited it in the back of the small moving truck. The box was heavy, filled with Bella's favorite books. Charlie wiped his brow, not to clear any sweat but more of a nervous reaction to what was about to happen. In his mind he was still just getting his little girl back, and he wanted to kill the bastard for ripping her away from him.

Charlie took a deep breath and walked toward the house to grab another one of the hastily packaged boxes. He wanted her to wait and think things through, be he also knew that she had an even great responsibility now. If he was in her shoes he would do the same damn thing.

Bella approached the top of the stairs and slowly descended with a tattered suitcase in tow.

"That's the last of it Dad."

Charlie took the suitcase from her hands and made his way back outside to load it up. After he and the girls grabbed a few more boxes from the living room he turned to his daughter and showed her more emotion then he had in years. He hugged her and let a few tears fall into her hair as he whispered softly, "Whatever you need Bells, call me. _I love you_."

He turned to Leah and patted her shoulder, "Take care of my baby." Leah simply nodded as if he was passing the torch of responsibility.

With those simple words from a simple man, Leah and Bella stepped inside the cab of their rental moving truck and backed out of Charlie's driveway. Bella was leaving behind her old classic Chevy since she probably would not need it anyway in Chicago and doubted it could even make the trek across country. A part of her liked the idea of leaving a piece of herself behind for Charlie too, even if it was a rusted pile of useless crap. It was a rusted pile of useless crap—that Bella loved because Charlie had given it to her. She hoped he understood her sentiment.

The moving truck pulled back onto the county highway and began its laborious trek through the winding forest roads. In all the years that Leah had lived in La Push she never was introduced or carried on any semblance of a conversation with Bella Swan. The fact that her father and best friend entrusted the meek girl to her might perplex most people, but the underlying rational made perfect sense.

The two women remained silent for just under an hour when Leah heard the faint sniffles begin. In her seat, Bella pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked so diminutive against the cheap upholstery. Leah hated it, not because she held any ill will against the girl. No, she hated how her body folded into a defensive stance because it was the same way she looked right after Sam cheated on her. It was time to start working with her; after all it was why Jacob called her in the first place.

"Sit the fuck up Swan and stop the crying. We both start over today, and I am not going to have your ruin it with your little pity fest."

Bella simply looked up and her eyes filled with shock, "Well!" Leah barked and Bella unfolded herself before wiping her face with her sleeve.

Looking back five years, Leah felt like all the work she had put forth had fallen apart. Bella was crumpled in the same position that she did in that moving truck and it would only be moments before tears threatened to leak out. Leah was about ready to throw her hands up in the air and give up. This was the ultimate test to see if after five years Bella could pick herself up and walk with her head held high—and it appeared that she was destined for failure. Leah sighed and put her head in her hands in defeat.

"I know, I know. Sit up and stop crying," Leah looked up to see Bella standing over her and slightly pacing. She silently prayed to whatever god or spirit that made Bella strong enough to pass this test before standing up as well.

"This is what you are going to do," Leah looked Bella in the eye, "You are going to go into that room, give your little monster a goodnight kiss. When you are done with that, draw yourself a bath and soak in the suds. Do whatever it is you have to pleasure yourself, because we know you aren't bring any booty back here. And then go to bed. Alright?"

"Okay," Bella's voice, while not its usual strong tenor, conveyed that she was not going to fall apart—at least not this evening.

Bella walked out of the bathroom and to the bedroom across the hall. She opened the door slowly, aware that she still had to take some WD-40 to the top hinge if wanted to continue her late night spying sessions without waking its occupant.

The faint night light cast shadows across the room. Although she lived in an apartment where painting the bland beige walks was not allowed, Bella did indulge in hanging a royal purple fabric with 3M sticky tape to give it a less sterile feel. The small white bed rested underneath the lone window of the room and held the one thing in the world that Bella actually cared about.

Bella moved quietly to the edge of the bed where she admired Ellie, her daughter's, long curly hair. It draped across her cream colored pillow and onto her matching duvet. Bella did not mind having thrift store quilts on her bed, but this bedding set had been a splurge after her first promotion. When she went to the department store, her then three year old daughter had jumped on the display model bed and rolled around on the soft fabric.

"Feel mama, feel!" Bella felt the cream fabric with embroidered butterflies with a smile and glanced over to the price sign next to the bed listing the various cost for all of the bedding accessories. Costs too much, simply too much.

"We'll come back and sit on it again some time?" Ellie, the ever content child just nodded and slid of the edge of the bed. Bella could not help but notice that as they walked away her little head turned back and looked at the fabric longingly.

It became an obsession for Bella, every other week she would stop in the department store located so conveniently next to the grocery store she shopped at. Every time she went in with the hopes the bedding would be on sale.

Three months of checking, Bella walked in to find the display taken down and replaced by a Spiderman set. She panicked and looked up and down the aisles. With tears running down her face she finally went to the end of the last row and was greeted with a yellow clearance sign and the cream colored bedding lying on the shelves below haphazardly.

With a joyful glee, Bella pulled off the duvet, pillowcases, sheets, and even little bed scrims. She was a sight for the poor cashier who checked her out, tear stains lining her cheeks, red puffy eyes, and armfuls of bedding.

Looking back now Bella knew that it was not the bedding that she had been sad about losing; it was the subconscious thought of losing her daughter. These cream colored linens were nestled around the most precious person in her existence, and they hugged and held her when Bella was across the big city taking bad people off the street who could harm her. Bella was her protector, and in turn Ellie was her savior.

Bella leaned in to kiss Miss Elizabeth "Ellie" Marie Swan but swooped in further to hug her tight. Ellie was dead to the world at that moment and did not even bat and eyelash as her mother cradled her daughter and held her even tighter. Bella skipped the bath and decided that this spot was much more comforting then any amount of warm water would be to her stiff muscles. The physical pain she faced time and time again could be overcome, but the emotional pain is what she needed the most comfort from.

In the warm cream colored bedding mother and daughter fell restfully asleep in each other's embrace. Leah passed the open bedroom door on her way to her own room and quickly chastised herself. How could she have given up hope that Bella relapsed into her old ways? There was something in her life now that she did not have five years ago when she fell apart in that moving truck, now she had a rock of sorts. That small child was Bella's oath that she would not fall away from the strength and resolve she built within herself since they drove away from Forks.

Leah knew that Bella faced some serious tests now that would challenge that resolve, but she was not going to let her battle them alone. As hardnosed and uncaring to almost everyone in the outside world, that little monster curled under those sheets who had massacred her face with paints earlier this evening meant more to Leah then her own life. Ellie was not jaded or left without love, and both Leah and Bella protected her from ever feeling that way despite their own inhibitions to open up to others.

So while Leah left Bella and Ellie to continue with their sleep, she headed to her own bedroom not to rest, but research. It appeared that a former threat of a disloyal man had come to town and Leah was going to find out his purpose for being in Chicago.

Then she was going to channel her ancestral inner wolf to hunt him down and tear him to pieces.


	3. Guts and Midriff

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine. **

"_There's no room for faith, truth, nor honesty in this bosom of thine. It is all filled up with guts and midriff". ~__Henry IV, part I_

**Chapter 3 – Guts and Midriff**

Bella rose from her daughter's bed early the next morning. She quietly breathed in her lovely floral scent before placing the duvet back over her tiny body. Ellie rolled onto her side and her soft curls found their way sprawled in every direction the wind blows.

After a quick morning shower to warm her body, Bella went to the kitchen when she noticed there was a missed call on her phone. The number did not look familiar, and after the previous evenings events she did not want to take a chance on anonymous callers.

Bella began preparing pancakes in anticipation of Ellie waking up with her usual grumpy morning demeanor. Bella could hardly fault her daughter for a trait she picked up from her mother. If it were not for the odd hours she kept in the SVU that rearranged her schedule, Bella would probably be moaning just as loudly.

The phone began to ring again, and noticing that it was the same phone number as before Bella let the call go to voice mail. When the phone beeped to alert her the message was recorded, she punched in her pass code and put the phone on speaker. She honestly believed that the message would be either and solicitor or something equally unpleasant –such as a call back from one of her newfound friends asking about the night before.

Instead Bella was greeted by something entirely different and slightly unexpected, "Hi Bella, this is Marc. Umm—my cousin gave me your number and told me a little bit about you. Agh—I never do this and feel so stupid asking you out for coffee over an answering machine… but I'd love to chat with you and maybe set up a date. Anyway, if you want to give me a call, here's my number…"

After several years in law enforcement, Bella generally considered herself to be able to get a good read on a person with very few things to go by. In some instances her quick personality reading could mean the difference in diffusing a potentially threatening situation.

From just a few sentences over a message Bella could tell from the inflection in his voice that he was a genuinely mind mannered man. He most likely was nervous, but that was to be expected in this situation, but on the whole registered as someone who was most likely laid back.

In the past five years, Bella had kept her male relationships to a minimum. There were so many factors that she had to take into consideration, first and foremost is Ellie. Without a doubt, Bella was almost guarantied to freak out any male with the short little phrase, "I have a daughter." Kids seemed to be the kiss of death to starting a new relationship, but Bella was always up front with any interested men. She did not have the luxury of time to get to know someone and enjoy their company only to have them run for the hills at the first mention of children. Bella and Ellie were a packaged deal.

Bella's job was almost as large of an impediment. Men seemed to create a certain mental image of how a woman who works in SVU will act. Many thought she would become an over the top feminist and beat them into submission. Others thought that she would watch them like hawks to make sure they were honest and faithful. Of course, Bella rather liked the idea that there was some sense of fear instilled in them right away if they thought she would follow them, because most times they truly did have something they wanted to hide.

On a second assessment, perhaps Bella did fit the SVU mold slightly—she made sure every man she went on a date with had a background check. No one had ever been back to her apartment, Ellie's safety was too important to her to risk something like that.

The smallest hindrance ultimately turned into one of the most difficult to overcome. After Bella's experience with Edward, her ability to trust and open her heart simply faltered.

But the one hint Marc put into the message that attested to his good nature was the part of the message that he recorded accidently. It is obvious he thought he pressed the "end" button on his cell phone, but the words sprinkled forth unfiltered,

"Ahhh! I messed that up! God, she was so beautiful in the photo they sent me. I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid!—Ah crap, is this still running?" Click. His personal berating was so endearing that Bella picked up the phone and immediately dialed him back.

"This is Marc."

"Hi Marc, this is Bella." Slight pause and then what sounded like a cough and chocking, "Marc? Marc, are you okay?"

"Yeah," cough, "Umm Bella, I didn't expect a call back—well to be honest, _ever_."

"Why, is something wrong?"

"Bella, did you listen to my awful message didn't you?"

"You mean the part were you called me 'so beautiful'? I may have listened to it."

"I am so embarrassed. I haven't asked someone out in a very long time."

And Marcus Turi certainly meant it. When he transferred from UW-Madison to Northwestern to be closer to family, he met and fell in love with a beautiful woman whom he affectionately called Didy. Her very presence made Marc smile. She seemed to contain a certain aura of happiness around her that immediately made him feel content.

Marc and Didy's relationship blossomed, and it seemed they were certain to live a perfect life together, filled with babies, grandbabies, and even a few loyal dogs running in the yard. Marc knew early on that he wanted to ask for Didy' to marry him, and he purchased a ring after their second date.

The box sat in his sock drawer for over a year. Although he was certain of where this relationship was going, he did not want to frighten her off. He courted her in a traditional manner and made every attempt to make her feel like the princess she was. To her end Didy lavished him with love and never gave him pause to doubt her loyalty to their relationship.

The night of his planned engagement, Marc called ahead to make sure Didy would be at her apartment. He had a night filled with surprises, including a horse carriage ride planned near Navy Pier, a dinner at her favorite Italian restaurant, and a walk along the lakeshore where he would bow to one knee and plead for her hand in marriage. Although he hoped that he would not need to plead _too_ hard.

Didy answered her phone and said she would wait for him at the apartment mentioning how she rented a few movies they could watch, unbeknownst to her of the real evening's festivities. Marc hurried over to her apartment and waited patiently at the door with a bouquet of flowers when he knocked on her door.

After a few minutes of knocking and no sign of Didy, Marc became anxious. He pulled out the key she had given him a couple months back. Rarely did he have the need to use this privilege, but tonight he couldn't stop himself. Something was definitely wrong.

Marc opened the door to the apartment and saw and empty living room and kitchen, "Didy!" Marc yelled, "Where are you sweetie?" When he did not receive a response, he checked the bathroom and finally her bedroom.

It was there on his bed that the love of his life was sprawled out with blood lining the comforters. He threw his bouquet on the floor and ran to her searching for a pulse. In his panic he made a call to 911, but even before they arrived to the scene he knew she was gone. There was simply too much blood gone, and it was there that the little engagement ring box fell out of his pocket and landed on her lifeless body.

It was over three years ago that Marc had lost his love, and in that time he remained mostly apathetic, simply existing from day-to-day. When his cousin sent him the picture of Bella laughing at the restaurant, it wasn't just her physical beauty that stunned him. It was what he knew of her inner beauty that brought out a little bit of hope.

On the one day that destroyed Marc's life an angel came to him in comfort. She pulled him away from the lifeless body and gave him a glass of water to drink. He didn't know at the time that what she really wanted was his fingerprints and DNA on the cup so she could send it into the lab and make sure to include or rule him out of the investigation.

She helped bring him down to the station and assisted in the questioning, where she made him feel at ease before asking if he wanted to change into some clean sweatpants and a quick shower. He mistook her attempt from extracting his clothing as evidence as a sign of kindness.

She was the one that made the call to tell him that the death of his dear Didy was the result of a family in the Chicago mafia exacting revenge for the death of one of their own. Eye for eye. Marc never knew her family was connected with the mafia, and the calm voice of the officer told him it was for the best because they were unlikely to come after him as collateral damage.

Marc almost wished they had.

He wanted to end this misery and join his Didy in whatever afterlife she had gone too. There was no life without there, there was simply subsisting.

Bella Swan had kindly guided him through the entire formal part of the investigation and although she could not bring his love back, she brought his hope back. The mafia covered their tracks well, and implementing them in murder was practically impossible. Bella and her colleagues in the SVU did their best to put together a case against the assailants, but in the end the district attorney had to put the case on the back burner until she could assure a prosecution. Three years and they were still looking for the key to locking the bastards who had taken Didy from Marc.

Since Didy's death Marc remained distant. His cousin forced him to move into her home while he recovered, and there he remained in a static state. Until he received the picture of Bella.

Marc's cousin knew his past, but she wasn't aware that Bella had worked on Didy's case. The only thing she knew was that she was sick of him sulking around the house, and she surmised that Bella probably did the same by her demeanor and lack of interest in discussing her relationship status. She thought the match would work well because Bella could understand the past Marc faced since she saw it every day at work, and in turn Marc could relate to Bella's job. It never crossed her mind that every time Bella would mention a case to Marc, he would likely revert back to the images of Didy lying lifeless on her bed.

In all honesty, Marc did not consider it either. All he saw was a beautiful woman who helped him in a time when he thought there was no alternative to death.

So when he told Bella on the phone that he had not asked anyone out in a long time, what he really meant to say was, "I haven't asked anyone out since the day you found me lying across the dead body of my love three years ago."

What Bella heard on the other end was simply a man having jitters over asking out a woman.

"Marc, before we set something up I need to put something out there."

"Okay—," Marc nervously hitched his breath, he wondered if she recognized his voice from years ago.

"I just like to put this out there so I don't waste anyone's time. I have a four year old daughter who is the most important person in my life. She comes first before everything else. If any of that makes you uncomfortable, we don't have to set anything up and I won't think any less of you."

"Oh—" Marc let his breathing relax, that was certainly not what he expected. Before he let the pause go any further and make Bella think this was a problem jumped back in, "Oh! I was expecting you to say something different. Bella, the fact you have a young child doesn't scare me off at all. And I would expect that she would always be first in your life.

"That's good. Alright then, let's set up that coffee date."

* * *

Charlie heard the obtuse knocking on the front door ten minutes ago, and the knocker remained persistent for the least ten minutes. The constant thud amplified his already growing headache, and all he wanted to do was catch some extra sleep before the big game since he spent the better part of the morning at the lake catching fish.

The pounding commenced as Charlie shuffled down the stairs and to the front door donning only a robe. Generally he would only answer the door if in this state of undress if he knew Sue was on the other side. But at this moment he was too tired to really care.

On his morning fishing trip with his good friend Billy Black, they had left at their usual 4am time and headed down to their favorite lake about a half hour outside of La Push. Charlie helped navigate his wheelchair bound friend through the overgrown path down to the lake shore and set up to enjoy a morning of quiet contemplation.

Casting out his line, Charlie sat back and let his mind wonder to his usual concern, the well-being of his daughter and granddaughter. As usual he twitched slightly and gritted his teeth thinking about the separation of his family. He missed most of Bella's youth when his ex-wife decided that not only did she want a divorce; she wanted to move states away. Charlie could have fought for full custody, but he could not bear pulling apart Bells from her mother. He was not a cruel man. Charlie quietly grieved the loss of his family in his everyday life. When Renee walked out the door for the last time, Bells turned and gave him a small wave before being guided to the parked car outside.

That night was one of the handful of times in Charlie Swan's life that he openly grieved. The tears were the only emotion he allowed himself to display while he quietly tried to put his life back together and manage alone.

Now his own daughter was hundreds of miles away once again and trying to manage on her own. This is not what he dreamed of for her, but she would never tell him in their regular talks that she was sad or disappointed in her life. In the last few years she became something that Charlie recognized as resolved.

Charlie pinpointed the moment Bella became resolved as the conversation they shared when she told him of her decision to join the Police Academy. Being a man of law enforcement, most folks thought he would have been proud of her decision. To a certain extent he was, his lovely daughter wanted to help people, but in his mind she was still the little girl giving him an over the shoulder wave and being ushered away by her mother. She was the one he was trying to protect, and crime in Chicago was certainly in a different ballpark then crime in Forks, Washington.

In the last few years Charlie had become prone to plaguing nightmares that generally revolved around Bella becoming injured in the line of duty. It was a distinct possibility, especially working in SVU where the cases became familiar and difficult for an officer to distance themselves. He tried to reason with Bells on more than one occasion that it was not just her life she was risking, but the life of her daughter.

If there was one thing Bella Swan inherited from her father it was stubbornness and the audacity to take on her dangerous job. Her commanding officer understood Bella's precarious position, and in an attempt to placate Charlie, he would personally call the worried father and keep him abreast of the different cases Bella was involved in. Charlie knew that the officer edited their conversation and understood that this practice was out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, he was often impressed with the particular cases that not only was Bella assigned, but also closed. There was no doubt in his worried mind that his daughter was one of the best in the Chicago SVU even after only a few years.

Charlie reeled in his line to cast it out again, when he was interrupted from his thoughts by a rather unexpected sound. Billy lay slouched over in his chair and lightly clutched his chest. His face looked pale and he began to take labored breaths.

The signs of what could be a heart attack propelled Charlie into action. He had lost his other good friend Harry to one quite a few years back and he damn well was not going to lose another one. He rummaged through his large tackle box and found a bottle of aspirin before putting one in Billy's mouth and forcing him to swallow. He then pulled out his cell phone and immediately contacted the station and asked them to also notify Billy's son, Jacob. Charlie left his prized fishing pole on the side of the lake and wheeled his friend up to his cruiser.

There was a defibrillator in the trunk, and Charlie was more than prepared to use it if the need arose. Damning their remote location, he knew that he could get his friend to the hospital faster than it would take an ambulance to even find them. Throwing on the sirens, he hit the road and drove like his life depended on it, Billy certainly deserved that much.

The hospital had been ready for them, and Charlie only slightly winced when Carlisle Cullen stood with the other emergency staff. He knew he would be since he was a cardiologist. Yet the pure site of him made Charlie's blood boil. As was common in the last five years when Charlie ran into his former in-law, he sneered and walked away.

Jacob Black's little Volkeswagon Rabbit hopped a curb before racing through the hospital parking lot. He did not even bother driving it into an actual parking spot; he threw it onto the lawn of the hospital and unfolded his large body from his comically small vehicle.

"Charlie, is Dad alright?" The panic did not leave Jacob's face.

"I don't know son, they just took him in a minute ago," Charlie stepped in and gave Jacob a quick 'man hug', "Let's go inside and wait for some news."

The wait felt long, much longer then it truly was. Jacob nervously paced the waiting room while Charlie just stood in the corner staring out the window. Charlie always thought of Jake as a part of the family. He would come on fishing trips when he was younger, and although he could not fill the hole of Bella being taken away from him, Jake certainly softened the blow.

In some ways Charlie felt that this whole mess with Bella could have been avoided if she had realized that Jacob was a great guy and would have made a great husband. The mental image of Bella sitting in a little house in La Push while hers and Jake's children ran around the yard brought a smile to his face. Charlie could see himself walking into the yard and barefoot children running up to greet him.

Charlie only wanted his daughter to be happy. But couldn't he be allowed a little happiness by having her in his life as well?

Carlisle came into the waiting room and looked between Charlie and Jacob. He had wanted to send in a nurse to tell them the news, but quickly dismissed that idea because it was his job to man-up and carry out his job.

"Ahem," Carlisle cleared his throat while Charlie and Jacob turned to him, "Billy is alright. It was not a heart attack, but after several tests he has extremely high blood pressure."

"What does that mean?" Jacob looked worried.

"There is some medication that Billy can be on to help with the problem. Mostly we are going to have to work out a new diet plan for him as well as physical exercise. One of the nurse practitioners will sit down with the both of you and put together some options."

"Fish fry," Charlie mumbled under his breath. He knew that it was going to be the death of one of them eventually.

Carlisle picked up on the mumbled breath, "There will be no more of those I'm afraid. I cannot stress this enough; the next time he comes in this hospital with those symptoms _it truly will be a full heart attack_."

Those words thudded in Charlie's brain and were certainly the cause of this ferocious headache. Now standing in his home and clothed only in his thinning flannel robe, the pounding from the door had become too much. He wanted to chew out whoever was causing the ruckus and send them packing, perhaps with a nice shiny black eye.

"What the hell are you doing?" Charlie growled as he flung the door open. He had not anticipated the screen door being swung open and a petite body flinging itself inside. He had to hold his robe closed from the draft that threatened to make him expose himself to the neighborhood.

"Charlie, for the last time, tell me where Bella is!"

"As usual, I don't know what you are talking about," Charlie feigned ignorance, while trying to push his unwelcomed guest back toward the door.

"Oh, so you don't know that your daughter is living in Chicago? You mean I know more about her whereabouts then her own father? Seriously Charlie, don't play dumb with me!"

Esme Cullen was the last person Charlie expected to see at his doorstep this morning. He also took in a deep breath when she mentioned Chicago. He wanted to find out how she knew that, but little did he know that his response had given her the little nugget of information that she needed. In that deep breath she knew the mark was hit, Bella was indeed living in Chicago.

"Esme, you need to leave this house immediately. My response remains the same as it has for the last five years. I can only be cordial to my ex-in-laws for so long."

"Damn it Charlie, Bella leaving has torn my family apart. All I want is answers. You won't give them to me; Edward _certainly_ won't give them to me. That leaves Bella to give them to me," Esme moved herself further into the house as a warning she did not plan on leaving any time soon, "I loved her like a daughter, and I don't want to hate her. God knows I don't want to hate her, but when I still see Edward as devastated as he is…I have to protect my son."

"He certainly doesn't look like he is that devastated anymore," Charlie huffed and then walked to his kitchen to put on some coffee hoping that the caffeine would carry away the now pounding headache.

Esme followed him into the kitchen, and her usually serene face was now starting to redden up with anger, "What do you expect him to do, wait around a little longer? She left him. He is just finally starting to come around."

"Even if you find her, she would never tell you anything," Charlie mumbled, simply wanting to get this harping lady out of his house so he could climb back into his bed.

"Why Charlie, what does she have to hide!"

"_Bella_ doesn't have to _hide_ anything. She just doesn't want you to _hate_ your _son_." As soon as the words left Charlie's mouth he knew he had admitted too much. The usually calm and unshakable man had been unraveled by the very force that was known as Esme.

Esme walked into his living room and looked around at the meager possessions. As a budding interior designer, Esme lived for putting together the perfect fabrics and accessories to make a house feel like a home. Her talent was so well know that she never advertised her services, and she had to refuse many potential clients because her calendar was much too full.

Yet, standing in the living room of Charlie Swan she saw the mis-matched frames holding photos of his daughter and sighed. Art projects of a very young child decorated the mantel and she thought sadly that in all her attempts to create a perfect home for others, she could not complete her perfect home until her family was complete—mismatched frames and all.

Leaning against the worn sofa was a small and equally worn suitcase. Esme walked over and touched it before turning to see Charlie leaning against the door frame to his living room arms folded and gazing at her tiredly.

"You're going to go see her." It wasn't a question. Charlie never left Forks, the farthest he ever went was Seattle, and he wouldn't need his suitcase for a trip there. There is only one destination that would require him to pack his bags, and that was to whatever place his daughter resided.

"Charlie," Esme was grasping at straws, "I know she is in Chicago, for whatever fortune brought them together even for a moment, Edward spotted her there last night. You can deny it all you want and make this difficult for me. But I will find her; I have the resources and the wrath of a weary mother on my side. If I have to find her under my own devices, the result will not be nice."

"Get out of my home," Charlie demanded.

"Hard way or easy way, you choose," Esme stood in front of him and put her hands to her hips.

In all of his life Charlie had never harmed a woman. He was a protector by nature, he did not try to lash out at Renee when she left him and took his only child. He never hit or swore at a woman in his life, even when he had then in custody and they attempted to punch, bite, or slap him. In all honesty, the only time that Charlie had ever become a threatening man was when a boy would come to his house to attempt and take his daughter on a date after she moved to Forks for the last two years of high school. But standing here with his raging headache, the weariness of bringing his best friend to the hospital this morning, and the newfound knowledge that his daughter had seen her ex-husband for the first time in five years—Charlie finally snapped.

"Fuck you Cullen, and fuck your little ass-wipe of a son! I said get out of my home!"

A man of little words, Charlie had allowed his voice to rise to an unnaturally frightening tenor. While Esme may have the wrath of a weary mother, he had the petulance of a tormented father. His anger knew no bounds, and was not above throwing this women physically from his property and facing the repercussions later.

Esme realized she had hit Charlie Swan's last nerve and brushed by him as she made her way to the door. She ran to her car and drove off to her house that was no longer a home. Even through the sadness and anger that opening this wound created, she had learned more information in this one heated meeting then in five years of prying.

The first is that Bella was indeed in Chicago, although now that she had seen Edward, Esme wondered how long she would stay. The second, and possibly most important, Edward played a larger part to his wife's disappearance then he had led the family to believe.

With a new resolve of her own, Esme picked up her cell phone and dialed a number she had not had the opportunity to use in quite some time.

"Hello James…Yes, this is Esme Cullen…I have an update to help with your tracking."


	4. Hourly Promise Breaker

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

"_[Thou art] a most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality." ~All's Well That Ends Well_

**Chapter 4 – Hourly Promise Breaker**

Edward Cullen awoke to an exceptionally dry set of eyes. The sting of the pepper spray was almost as wounding as the contempt Bella had displayed. He absentmindedly rubbed his hip where she had kicked him. If he was not heartbroken from her obvious rejection, he may have been slightly impressed by her much improved self-defense skills.

For years Edward had pleaded with Charlie to help him contact Bella. But her father remained adamant he knew nothing, yet he never seemed panicked at the possibility of his disappearance. That was the telltale sign that Charlie Swan knew exactly where his daughter was hiding out. If he didn't he would be searching the country and using whatever leverage his position as a rural police chief would garner him. It was his admission of guilt.

Edward called his mother the evening before after he ran in and was attacked by Bella. He knew that with the time zones she would just be getting ready for, and even if she was asleep he would have awaken her. For years they had searched for a lead in their search to find her coming up empty. This was the first visible confirmation that Bella did not drop off the face of the earth in over five years, despite the paperwork that been curried to him stating otherwise.

Desperation ran through him, and it took every ounce of willpower to stop Edward from running aimlessly down the streets of Chicago and every one of its suburbs with a blow horn shouting out Bella's name.

But he had one item to attend to before he was able to attempt his manic search. Edward stepped inside his rental car, snorting at its weak acceleration, and left the quaint bed and breakfast he was staying at. Looking out his rear view mirror he was reminded of a similar place in a much happier time.

* * *

When Edward began going out on dates with Bella in high school, his family affectionately called his old fashioned approach as "courting". He was always held the most polite disposition in her presence, opening every door—much to his love's chagrin. He would compliment her regularly and make sure she was well cared for. When a boy would make a comment about her voluptuous body, Edward would rise to defend her honor and punch the kid before he knew what was coming.

In short, he was nothing but a true gentleman.

Edward's gentlemanly ways often times frustrated Bella. Under her mother's care as a child, or lack thereof, she became a strong and highly independent woman. Bella adjusted to her boyfriend's overprotective actions but maintained much of her self-reliance.

There was piece of contention in Edward's gentlemanly ways that Bella consistently challenged. He refused to go past second base before he was married. On several occasions when Bella felt particularly frisky, she attempted to seduce her more than alluring boyfriend.

Edward refused to budge. He would go on and on about protecting her virtue, but all Bella wanted to do was have him throw her across his bed and let him ravish her. No amount of pleading would break his resolve, and Bella became a very frustrated woman.

So frustrated that she pushed their wedding ahead six months.

On their wedding night Edward took Bella back to the small bread and breakfast outside of Forks where they would stay that evening before driving up to Seattle where their flight would take them on their honeymoon.

To say that Edward was frightened that night was an understatement. He was absolutely nervous because his new bride was about to lose her virginity to an equally pure man. He did not want to disappoint her.

Edward took his time and cautiously unbuttoned Bella's wedding gown, slowly kissing the newly exposed skin of her back after every button was released. His hands shook, but he was careful not to let his love see the hesitation. At last, the gown fell to the floor and he turned her around to see little blue panties and her naked breasts.

There was only a few candles around the room illuminating them, but even in the dim light Edward recognized the telltale blush of Bella's cheeks. She quickly drew her arms across her chest and looked down at the pure garment that lay around her ankles.

"Please Bella, don't hide," and then Edward realized that he had done a poor job of making her feel on equal footing. He quickly striped of the tie of his tux and discarded his dress shirt and pants. All that remained was his briefs, and he pulled them off without a second thought.

That was until Edward too realized how vulnerable he had become.

The pure feeling of nothing hiding his body was nerve-racking, and he understood immediately why Bella had sheathed herself. Yet, despite his nerve surrounding his nakedness, his thoughts were overrun by the beauty that was his wife.

The smell of her skin was too tantalizing to ignore. Edward sucked on the skin of her shoulder before lowering himself and worshiping the space between her perfect mounds. His inexperience was now making him nervous, but when Bella let out the deepest moan he had ever heard, her new husband continued his exploration of the newly exposed flesh. Whatever reassuring touch he provided put her scared mind at ease.

Bella's eyes fell on his manhood and she guardedly reached down to touch him. Edward realized how unsure she was of her action, and gently took her hand and guided it to his now prominent erection before watching her stroke him lightly one, then twice. He hissed in pleasure.

"Bella, you don't need permission to touch me. I'm yours."

"Edward, make love to me."

Edward responded by putting his arm under her knees and back to lift her gently into the bed in the aptly named 'bridal style' fashion. He was rewarded by a soft giggle and the sultry movement of her fleshy mounds.

He placed her gently on the bed, and before he placed any more attention on satisfying his needs, and certainly they were growing by the moment, he took care of hers. With careful diligence, his once shaky hands became steady as he placed his attention on that chestnut hair being held back by the confines of small metal hair pins. Edward looked at his love and smirked.

"This simply will not do."

For a split second Bella feared that she was indeed inadequate for her new husband. His words scared her, but she was quickly calmed. His long, lean fingers began to ghost along her hair until they found an offending hair pin. Gently, he removed each one and placed it on the nightstand.

Laughing he remarked, "There must be over a hundred of them in here—I am going to be pulling them out for weeks!"

That small remark made Bella instantly pleased. Of course if there were any remnants in his hair she would be more than happy to have him comb through until each one was discovered. After all, they had forever.

As the last pin was removed, Edward marveled at how Bella's chestnut hair fell past her shoulders and lay against her lovely porcelain skin. He wanted nothing more to feel every inch of it, and began to move his hands with caution over the curves and valleys of her skin. He looked up through his long lashes to see his wife leaning back on her elbows with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly gapped open. It was too much to resist, he pushed himself up to meet her and brushed his lips against hers.

Bella tangled her hands through his mop of a hair and moaned deeply into his mouth. The sweet taste of his lips all but begging to cherished. She wanted his lips all over her body, and she wanted desperately to reciprocate. All her nervousness from minutes before washed away; she wanted him inside of her to consummate their marriage.

Edward pulled away to take in a deep breath of air, although he was almost certain that breathing in Bella should be enough for his weak body. He had kissed her before their wedding; this was nothing new to him. But kissing her while she lay unclothed beneath him while rubbing up against his skin was the most pleasurable experience of his life.

The slow seduction led to a throbbing inside of Edward, and he was more determined than before to remove those little blue panties that covered what he so desperately needed. He lowered his body to his knees and noticed that the panties were soaking wet and prayed to God that this was normal. When he touched the moist spot he jerked his head to hear Bella's low moan. His inexperience made him underestimate the power of a small stroke on his beloved. Now he understood.

Slowly pulling down the panties, Edward was rewarded with the most glorious site of his life. He quickly met Bella's eyes before he gave her a grin that was wider than the one he would send her every time he made a home run in high school baseball. She was simply relieved that he approved of her womanhood, an understandable concern as no man had ever seen her _down there_.

Edward pulled the blue panties down her legs, only stopping momentarily to kiss the little freckle on her thigh. He smirked at the back of them before flinging them over his shoulder.

"You had them printed with "Property of Mr. Cullen" on the back?" he could not hold back his amusement.

"Alice," was all Bella needed to reply before giggling. Of course Edward's overly hyper sister would make her statement, even in this time reserved just for him and his wife.

Edward quickly went back to his work of worshiping his love. He began moving his body back up to give her another kiss on her swollen lips, when he stopped at her open folds. The sweet aroma of Bella was intensified, and Edward found himself bury his face and nose into her sex. The move surprised her and she quickly jerked her body. This natural instinct of Edward to lick and kneed her wet folds felt more amazing then anything she had felt before, but she naturally worried.

"You don't have to do that," but she wanted him too, she truly wanted him too.

Edward popped his head up only momentarily looking his love in the eyes, "Bella, does this make you uncomfortable?" _Absolutely not_, she thought, and shook her head, "Good, because this makes me feel amazing. I have never tasted something so good in my life."

Returning to his new favorite place, Edward started in where he left off. His natural instinct was to circle the folds with his tongue and pull the juices from every crevice. When he found her opening he nearly rejoiced at the wet abundance. He was fully erect, yet he did not want to find a release quite yet, he wanted to love his wife.

Bella began to buckle on the silk sheets, grabbing at the headboard behind her in a fruitless attempt to calm the burn that swelled in her body. She had pleasured herself before. How could she not when day in and day out she was tempted by Edward? Imagining him take care of her body was an amazing release, but to actually have him there was overwhelming.

The slow burn swelled to a sweltering throb before Bella's body tensed and buckled. Attached to her very core, Edward could feel the moment her body released itself from his stronghold. Her breathing was labored, and Edward climbed up her body to rest his head on her now heaving chest. He wanted to hear the heartbeat that assured him he was alive.

A 'thank you' hardly seemed adequate to Bella, instead she turned to her love and began to kiss his forehead, before pulling his face to her own.

"Edward, its time," Bella looked him directly in the eyes, "I want you inside of me."

"It's going to hurt," the pain on Edward's face at the knowledge that he would have to harm his love, even if it meant a lifetime of loving her, tore him apart.

"I know that, but you will be gentle," Bella's hand found his cheek and rubbed away the frown lines of his face.

Edward sat up and straddled across Bella's body. He looked down at her soft body and knew that the sight before him was all he would ever need. Kissing her mouth, and then her shoulder, he trailed down to her soft mounds, and brought one of her pert pink nipples to his watering mouth. He was almost slightly embarrassed at his desire, when he felt Bella's hand once again reach for his hair and pulled his mouth closer to her body.

He switched his attention to the other soft mound when Bella took her small fingers and scratched at his back. The unexpected movement caused Edward to hiss in excitement.

Bella watched as her love lifted his face and noticed his darkened and menacing eyes. He pulled himself up and immediately hovered his tip over her ever increasingly wet entrance.

Despite his hunger for her, Edward waited patiently for her consent. Bella simply gave a small nod, and felt her love slowly enter her. The hard skin of his manhood pushed hard against her tight walls. Every movement was almost too slow, too painful.

Bella scrunched her face in pain and held in the scream that threatened to fly out of her mouth. It was excruciating, and every talk her mother Renee had given her on the subject did not prepare her for this. Her sister-in-law, Alice, probably gave her a slightly better depiction of her current situation. The only advice she gave Bella was to just to 'go all balls in' and the pun was certainly intended.

Edward hesitated his decent into Bella when he saw the pain on her face. He throbbed to be inside of her but began to pull out instead. Her comfort was more important than his need.

"No Edward, I need you to keep going. Remember, it's just this one time," his hesitation prompted her, "Be quick."

Keeping his eyes on his love's face where she had scrunched her eyes closed. Edward moved himself inside of her quickly to the wall of her hymen. She opened them and gave him a weak smile. Edward thrust the rest of the way forward.

A small tear fell down Bella's cheek. The pain consumed her and burned like a fire. She wanted to be pulled out of the excruciating heat, when she felt his hands take hers and a soft kiss over the trail of her tear. Edward did not move inside her, afraid of making the pain worse, but he desperately wanted to comfort her.

"Bella, being inside you right now…_there are simply no words_. Today I promised to be your husband, to love you in good times and bad. I promised to take care of you for all of our lives. You gave me this gift of yours and I promise to never do anything that would betray that trust."

The tears that Bella was holding back now overflowed. His words numbed the pain. She wanted this, she was ready.

"Make love to me Edward."

Cautiously, Edward moved his hips, slowly pulling himself in and out. After a moment, Bella began to meet his thrusts.

Pushing in. I love you Bella.

Pulling out. I cannot live without you Bella.

Pushing in. You fill my heart completely Edward.

Pulling out. Any moment away from you will be excruciating Edward.

Pushing in. I love you.

Pulling out. I will always need you.

Their slow steady rhythm gave way to more frantic movements. Each one consumed with the other, body and soul.

Edward could feel Bella's throbbing walls contract around him. He held off his release as long as possible, but even with his efforts it was going to come too soon. Having never felt a tension like this build up within himself, he was ill prepared to sustain his orgasm.

"I can't hold on anymore," he said through labored breaths and sweat spotting his brow.

"It's alright. Let go."

With the gentle encouragement of his wife, Edward released himself and knew that his seed was inside of her. She was his. No other man would ever feel the beauty and love that was his Bella. This thought comforted him as he pulled her back under the silk sheets and comforter. He laid her down and covered her stunning body before heading to the bathroom to grab a white hand towel.

Returning to Bella's side, she was almost asleep, so he tenderly cleaned her and then himself. Tossing the towel in the corner he moved in to hold her warm body close to his own.

With his arms wrapped protectively around her body, he kissed her forehead, "I love you Isabella Cullen."

"I love you Edward Cullen," she leaned her head back and welcomed a chaste kiss to her lips, a stark contrast to the lovemaking they had just finished.

"If we hadn't already done it today, I think after that I would have asked you to marry me," Edward grinned and the two laughed in their bliss before falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.

* * *

Even with the passage of time that night was forever ingrained in Edward's mind. Every caress, every touch of her delicate hands on his skin. There would never be anyone that could affect his body like Bella. His mother understood this; he only wished his father would come around to this viewpoint.

Edward navigated his rental car to a brown cobblestone townhouse. The outside was slightly neglected, but held much of the charm he remembered from his youth. Originally built in the late 19th century, the house had been in great disrepair for quite some time before urban renewal fueled through the neighborhood. New owners moved in and renovated the building inside and out while maintaining is historic charm.

Decadent details were found in the original scroll work around the doors and windows, while spacious rooms from the period were redone top to bottom. Bamboo floors replaced the rotting hardwood, and modern light fixtures took over the unsightly electrical hazards.

Indeed, a beautiful home for any young family starting out. Plenty of spacious bedrooms were located on the second and third floors. While this particular townhouse boasted large closets, a rarity amongst homes built in this period.

There was even a small, yet quaint fenced in backyard. Just enough room for a swing set or a playhouse.

Edward took his key and let himself inside the house. He had paid a well established contractor to make improvements to the home before he arrived. The money he invested appeared well worth it, the building looked to be in pristine condition.

Walking through the halls Edward turned on lights and stopped at the darkened parlor. With the dimmer on the wall he switched the pot lights on and immediately imagined his grand piano gracing the space. Yes, it was large, spacious, and simply perfect.

A voice was heard in the hallway, and Edward quickly vacated his dream to greet his guest. Standing in the hallway was a blond haired, petite, and familiar young woman.

"Mr. Cullen?" She asked the shock apparent on her face.

"Ms. Turi?"

"Yes, but you may call me Picia."

"And you may call me Edward. Is your name Italian?"

"It is actually short for Sulpicia. Roman decent. My mother was a fan of obscure Roman poetry. I also think she had a love of torturing her poor daughter," Picia smiled at Edward, "My husband is full-blooded Italian though. You were not too far of the mark."

There was an awkward silence. Edward shifted his weight from foot-to-foot.

"How are your eyes?" Picia asked kindly.

"A little dry, but otherwise alright," Edward admitted.

"Do you want to talk about last night?"

"I know you mean well Picia, but I feel that situation is a little personal. Would it be alright if we kept our relationship on the professional side for right now?"

Picia nodded, but still remained curious to Edward's situation. The night before she did not have the opportunity to ask him what his name was after he wandered off. Her refusal to simply provide him Bella's contact information left him with a short temper, and as soon as he recovered from the effects of the pepper spray he ran off to a hail a taxi.

While Picia had been sympathetic to the man, she certainly was not going to divulge anything more then she had too. Her husband worked in the SVU with Bella, and the one thing he had instilled in his wife was that protecting the anonymity of the officers was paramount to their safety.

Picia did not know much more then what she learned the evening before, but she certainly knew that her husband respected her, and even felt protective over her. He often referred to her as the younger sister he wished he had. Her refusal to provide Mr. Cullen with further information was to look after Bella's well being. Despite the fact he had the most gorgeous face she had seen—_after her husband of course_.

The irony of being here with him now was not lost on her. Nor was the fact that he had said that Bella was his wife. She did not believe this was true, after all, Bella had agreed to go out on a date with her cousin, Marc. Surely the woman Aro highly praised for her determination and character would never agree to something like that if she was not single.

Yet, he had planted a seed of doubt and Picia would follow up with Marc so he was aware of the situation. She certainly could not take a chance at his heart breaking again. The last time was so tragic that she simply shivered at the memory.

"Why don't you show me around the property?" Picia said to meet his request of professionalism.

Edward nodded, accepting her attempt to remove some of the awkwardness of the situation. He knew she would have questions, but he was not ready to divulge his secrets to a stranger.

They looked in the rooms, Picia taking notes and pictures with her small digital camera along the way. Occasionally she would pull out a ruler from her back pocket and measure appliances, or closets. She would ask some questions, but for the most part Edward knew little about the details of the home, having not lived there for nearly two decades. Especially with the recent modifications that he was seeing for the first time along with her.

They finished their tour and Edward led her back down to the front foyer. Picia looked through her notes with diligence before giving him her assessment.

"It is certainly a beautiful place, on the high end of the spectrum for this neighborhood. That can be a blessing and a curse in this market. "Edward nodded, he understood that this would be a difficult time to sell the brownstone townhouse. Picia continued, "This is not generally the time of year folks are looking to move, right before winter starts up in the Midwest is a bit of a dry spell."

"What would you suggest I do?"

"Well, the two options depend on how quickly you would like to sell the house. The first would require a rather price reduction, but with a property such as this you may end up lucky and find a buyer."

"And if I don't want to reduce the selling price?"

"Placing it on the market right now with the unlikely possibility of a bidder will leave it up for at least six to eight months. When folks start looking for homes in the spring, they will see on paper that this place has been on the market for quite some time and want to wheel and deal leaving them with the upper hand in negotiations.

"In that scenario I would suggest that we keep it off the market, and I only show it to folks I think may be potentially interested until spring by special invitation. In the spring, if no one shows interest in putting in a bid from the private showings, we put it on the market after making any improvements from the suggestions we received during the winter. For perception sake, the shorter the house is on the market, the more in demand it will be in the first month."

"I am willing to wait" Edward agreed with her assessment. Yesterday he had wanted to sell the townhouse immediately, but after last night's events, things were different.

Somewhere nestled in this city, his Bella was hiding. He wanted to tell Picia outright that he no longer had any intention of selling this house knowing that his long lost love was so close. He originally came to this townhouse this morning with every intent on halting the deal.

But things changed the moment Picia walked into the door. She knew Bella, and if he worked their relationship correctly he could find out where she was. It became a relationship of convenience for Edward, and he was not above exploiting their association.

"While I waited for the house to sell, would it be alright to move in? I'm just worried about maintaining a property back in Washington State and here," that was a bold faced lie. Edward knew he would not sell his home in Seattle, but he wanted to give Picia an excuse for him staying here while she thought she was selling the townhouse.

Picia considered his request, "If we pick out the right furniture and keep the clutter to an absolute minimum."

"And you would help me with this? I would be willing to compensate you for your time."

"Absolutely. I often have to stage bare homes anyway for showings, it helps potential buyers picture their own belongings here, as long as the pallet stays neutral," and it would offer Edward an added opportunity to spend time with her and find out what information she had about Bella.

"Then it's settled," Edward moved forward to shake her hand, "And thank you very much for your discretion. I don't want this to become awkward."

"Of course not," Picia returned his handshake, "and hopefully we will become friends." After all, despite whatever relationship he had or still has with Bella, the commission off this townhouse would more than pay for the trip Picia and her husband were planning to Italy next fall. A little discomfort would be all but forgotten while they shared time at their favorite villa just outside of Florence.

Edward waved farewell to Picia and shut the door. He pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket to make a call that less than twelve hours ago he would have thought improbably.

"Hello, this is Edward Cullen…Yes, thank you for meeting with me yesterday…Of course…I called this afternoon to accept your offer…I am free to meet with you tomorrow afternoon…Thank you, and it will be an honor to work with you as well."

Edward Cullen's life had taken a sudden and highly unexpected turn. He knew he would have to be patient because this certainly not how he pictured his life. But patience he had because in the end he had a very important promise to uphold.

* * *

While Edward sat contemplating his next move, a very stealthy Esme Cullen was hiding behind a pillar Sea-Tac Airport. She clutched her phone in her hand and tried to placate her angry husband on the other end of the line.

"Please Carlisle, be calm. I am just going to be gone a couple days, a week max."

"What are you up to Esme? Be truthful."

"I am doing something to help Edward out," that was a truthful statement, albeit vague. She was going to help her son, but she desperately wanted to omit the reason why to her husband of twenty-eight years. He was a loving and compassionate man, but his patience had long run out for Edward's yearning over Bella.

A flight announcement echoed over the speakers and Carlisle sighed, "You are at the airport Esme. Where are you going?"

"Chicago," she answered truthfully. At this juncture, even if she told him the truth there was no way he could physically stop her. It was a three and half hour drive for a normal person from Forks to Seatle, and even with his passion for speed he couldn't make it there in less than two hours when the flight boarded.

"Esme, please be rational. I think Edward can handle going to Chicago to put a house up for sale."

Esme was grateful that Carlisle had assumed the house was her rational for going, and she used this to her advantage, "It was wrong for us to let him go alone in the first place. This is his last physical connect to them, he needs someone there to help him be strong. Hasn't he lost enough? He should have someone there with him that has stuck by his side."

Her womanly wiles won her husband over. Carlisle did recognize the attachment that his son may have to the old townhouse and that he had gone alone even though he may need some emotional support. He relented.

"Please call me when you get there, and be sure to come home right away. You know I have a hard time sleeping when you aren't with me."

"Of course dear," Esme smiled at Carlisle's sentiment. His unending love would forever endear her to him. That is why she had to help Edward; she knew what it was like to need that kind of love and be lost without it.

Esme had made a promise of her own when Edward was eight years old. She would take him in and love him as her own. She would protect him and make sure no harm would come his way. When Bella left Esme felt she had failed her son, now was the time for redemption.

"I have to go now, _I love you_."

"I love you too Esme. Take care of our boy," Esme hung up the phone and proceeded to the ticket counter. She paid the exorbitant cost for a first class ticket to Chicago. The ticket counter clerk skimmed over her impeccable clothing and perfect appearance and assumed that she was used to living with luxury.

In truth Esme chose first class because she would have bet her new Louis Vuitton purse that Charlie Swan would have purchased a coach seat. The extra drinks they she would receive in flight were only an added bonus. And after this morning she could use a stiff drink.

The ticket clerk asked if she had any checked luggage and Esme swiftly said she would only have a carry on. The clerk looked at her small purse just shrugged. _Rich people, she is probably going to buy everything new when she gets there_.

Esme ignored the woman's glare and took her ticket. She made her way through security, all the while she was mindful of running into Charlie. Not that she did not want to spot him, but she definitely did not want him to find her.

If all went according to her hastily created plan, Esme would check on the plane after most of the passengers were already seated and slide into the first class cabin. She would be amongst the first to depart the plane when it landed in Chicago and run to catch a cab. She knew he had luggage packed, so she would wait outside of the luggage pick-up and have her cab follow him where ever he may go.

Hopefully it would lead her directly to Bella.


	5. Scurvy Companion

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine. **

**Warning, there is description of assault and violence in this chapter. If this offends you, please skip the second section which is in Bella's POV. While not overly graphic, it is a part of the plot line of Bella's decision to join the SVU.**

"_I scorn you, scurvy companion. What, you poor, base, rascally, cheating, lack-linen mate? Away, you moldy rogue, away!" ~ Henry IV, part 2_

**Chapter 5 – Scurvy Companion**

Charlie had planned on visiting Bella and Ellie this week, and once Esme had told him that Edward had seen her in Chicago, he pushed up his flight. This yearly visit always came the first week of November for the last four years. As much as his daughter needed him to be there, Charlie also depended upon her to make it through the grief.

The plane from Sea-Tac to Chicago was mostly full, and Charlie was able to reserve an aisle seat. He did not often fly, and he was still weary about it. In his estimation, the window seat in coach was the kiss of death because it was that much further from the aisle and reaching an exit aisle.

Charlie Swan was an honorable man, and when he donned his police uniform, he would take a bullet for anyone. He was also a rational man, but left his pragmatism behind once the fasten seatbelt sign illuminated the cabin. Heights were never his strong suit, and being enclosed in a can 20,000 feet above the earth brought out a very irrational man.

It was in the midst of this mindset, that Charlie had to use the bathroom once the plane reached cruising altitude. He shuffled his way down the narrow aisle and made his way to the cramped high-altitude port-a-potty.

On his way back up the aisle the curtain leading up the first class cabin parted slightly and Charlie saw a tuff of bronze, curly hair. Before he could look any further the curtain receded and he was at his seat. His mind began to wonder and he tried to calm its irrational behavior, but he simply had too much free time on his hands to ignore the coincidence.

Four hours of sitting and contemplation wore heavily on him, and by the time landed at O'Hare, Charlie was down right paranoid. When they landed on the tarmac and the light shut off alerting the passengers they could take off their seatbelt, he bolted from his seat to the overhead compartment to grab his carryon bag.

Despite his eagerness to depart the plane, passengers nearer the front of the plane already blocked the aisle. Charlie's paranoia would not subside. He truly worried that the little tuff of chestnut hair did indeed belong to Esme Cullen.

The moment he walked of the aircraft into the terminal, he back to look around scanning all of the crevices. Back on solid ground his thoughts began to clear and he began to act rationally. He assumed that Esme was just crazy enough to follow him, and she certainly had to money to just hop on any flight she wanted to.

Charlie walked toward the baggage pick-up and continued to scan the area. If Esme was in Chicago, she would be waiting for him. There was no other way she would find Bella.

The conveyer started moving and luggage began appearing on the belt. Charlie spotted his right away, and instead of heading out the doors right in front of the luggage check, his instinct told him to walk back down the corridor and try another exit.

On the sidewalk Charlie began eyeing up the parked cabs. He passed several that were empty when he spotted one closer to his baggage claim that looked like it already had an occupant. The same bronze, curly hair was prevalent from the flight. Walking up from behind her outline became perfectly clear.

Charlie would have smirked at catching her red-handed if he was not so furious. He walked up to the window tapping on it loudly. Esme jumped in her seat started to see him looing down at her.

Esme's quickly thrown together plan had failed before it even had a chance to materialize. The humiliation of being caught was overshadowed by the disappointment of not finding Bella.

Esme reluctantly rolled down her window and after staring at his hardened face the resolve began to surface, "I will find her Charlie. This," she gritted her teeth, "will not stop me."

"Oh yes it does. This stops here. She has been hurt enough, and this off all weeks is not the time to set her off."

"Charlie, is this the week that Renee—."

"Yes," Charlie cut her off with a hiss. Esme's anger melted slightly. She knew now why Charlie had chosen this particular week to see Bella. Her eyes melted into compassion.

"I'm sorry."

"Hmpf," Charlie shook his head and turned away momentarily. He felt a tear start to fall down his cheek and wanted to hide his vulnerability. He did not want Esme's sympathy. He wanted to see his daughter and granddaughter and she was holding him up, "Go home Esme, let the past rest and make your son move on."

With that Charlie walked across the road and median. He hailed a cab that drove off in the opposite direction.

Esme pulled out her cell phone and pressed her speed dial to make a couple calls. The first was to her son.

"Edward dear, how are you?"

"I'm good Mom, a reason you are calling me today?"

"Well dear, I am in Chicago right now and was hoping to meet up with you."

"Mom, did you jump on a plane because of what I told you last night? That seems to be a little much. How did you get Dad to agree with that?"

"I came for that amongst other things. Your Dad understands."

"How is it that I truly doubt that."

"So I may have had to stretch the truth a little bit. But enough about that, tell me where you are at so I can give my poor cab driver a destination."

"I'm at the townhouse."

"Really? Alright, I'll meet you there."

Esme hung up with Edward and gave the cab driver the address before she looked through the address book on her phone for another familiar number.

"Were you able to follow his cab?"

"Yes, I am having no problems following him."

"Good, call me if you have any updates James."

"Will do Mrs. Cullen. I have him in my sights."

* * *

Bella opened the door to her apartment and immediately grabbed her father and pulled him into a hug. The tears streaked down her cheeks as she kissed him on his scruffy cheek. A surprisingly emotional greeting for two rather reserved individuals.

"Oh Bells, you look as beautiful as other."

"Not so bad yourself Dad."

"Grandpa!" A high-pitched voice yelled from behind Bella. A little blur streaked across the room and flung itself at Charlie.

"Is this my Ellie-pie? You look too big too be my granddaughter," Charlie teased.

"It's me Grandpa! Look see, Mama says I have your eyes," Ellie opened them wide and looked at her grandfather intently.

"Well I'll be, it is my Ellie-pie. Why don't you show your poor old grandpa in so he can set down his luggage?"

Ellie bounded forward while Charlie and Bella gathered his luggage. Bella led her father to her bedroom and set down the worn suitcases. Charlie was about to protest about his daughter giving up her bedroom for him when she quickly silenced him.

"I have to work a lot of night shifts this week, so I won't even be around in the evening. Someone might as well enjoy my bed. Besides, I have a feeling that sleeping with Ellie this week might actually help a little bit."

Bella and Charlie mad their way back to the living room where Ellie was occupying herself with an art project.

"Its for you," Bella nodded to her daughter's artwork with a smile, "Been working on it all morning."

"Must know that I need some new decorations back in Forks," Charlie smiled.

Bella moved around the tiny kitchen putting on some coffee for Charlie. He watched her movements looked at his little girl. He could sense the sadness in her eyes, even though the never really talked about their emotions. Despite her sorrow, she stood with more confidence and held her head higher. Her resilience gave him a great deal of pride.

Charlie broke the silence, "How are you holding up?"

Bella was wiping down the counter when she placed the towel gently on top and turned toward her father, "Even after four years this is so hard."

"I know Bells, I loved her too," and it was true, Charlie did love Renee, even after she remarried Phil Dwyer. He only wanted her to be happy, even if it was not in his home.

"Do you think the pain will ever truly go away?" Bella was on the verge of tears.

"It never goes away, but I think it becomes easier to cope with. Especially when you have so much to live for," Charlie nodded his head toward the living room where Ellie grabbed a purple marker and began to attack the sheet. Bella could not help but smile. The brightest spot in her life truly is what carried her through each day. Without her this life certainly would be unbearable.

Charlie came over and hugged Bella once again, this time he did not let go. He let her shed her tears and rubbed her back to soother her sobs. It was not a natural action, but he became better with practice.

In his embrace Bella allowed herself to remember how the day she received the call from Phoenix that turned her life around one again.

Bella and Leah had been settled into their apartment for nearly a year and little Ellie was almost six months old. Bella had been working at a temp agency to bring in extra cash and pay the bills. She was eternally grateful for Leah who took on more then her fair share those first months.

Bella had been at home with Ellie while Leah was off at work. They tried to match up their schedule so that one could always be home with Ellie since the cost of childcare was out of the budget.

Ellie had just settled down for a nap when Bella's cell phone had gone off. Bella looked at the screen but did not recognize the number. It was a Phoenix area code and she wondered if Renee was calling her from a payphone, it certainly would not surprise Bella.

"Hello?" she answered hesitantly.

"Bella? This is Phil."

"Phil, hi. I wasn't expecting a call from you," in fact Bella never expected a phone call from her stepfather. He was always a nice enough guy, and he made her Mom happy. But she could not recall a time he had ever called her out of the blue.

"Bella…oh God, I don't know how to say this."

"Is something the matter?" Bella began to panic, "Is my Mom alright?"

A soft sob echoed through her earpiece. Phil Dwyer was a bit of a burly man. He had a tall, muscular build that carried him through several seasons of minor league baseball. Retired from playing, he coached at a local high school in Phoenix, bringing Renee back to Bella's childhood home.

Bella had once watched him getting up after a fastball hit him in the arm and not even wince. Phil was the consummate manly man. To hear his sob relentlessly into the phone unnerved Bella, and she began to shake.

"I'm at the hospital right now. Bella, it doesn't look good."

Phil Dwyer tried to explain to Renee's only child what had happened, but he simply could not get the word's to leave his mouth. It was not until Bella flew down with her daughter to Phoenix for the funeral that she heard how her mother had been murdered.

Renee Dwyer had always been erratic and offbeat woman. She loved her daughter, but was disappointed with her daughter when she married so young. When Bella told her she was pregnant with Ellie, to say she was disappointed was an understatement. Renee was devastated, and then a wreck when her daughter moved to Chicago with only an acquaintance.

Renee was also a friendly woman who befriended anyone who needed someone to chat with. She was approachable by everyone and enjoyed learning everyone's story. No one was to small, or to insignificant for her to engage with.

Her openness would become her undoing. Renee befriended a neighbor named Riley Nemus. His neighbors would describe him to police as a middle-aged hermit who would rarely venture outside. On infrequent occasions, Riley would cross his yard and knock on the Dwyer's door and chat with Renee on the porch.

It was not until they searched his home did the police realize the full extent of his obsession. An entire wall of his bedroom was filled with photographs he had taken of Renee coming and leaving from her home. There were photographs of her watering plants in the back yard and hanging out the clothes. Some of the most disturbing were those of her in her bedroom chancing or making love to her husband.

Riley's obsession was so extreme, that at night he had gone through her garbage and pulled out items he thought she had touched. He then pilled the refuge on the floor of his bedroom to sleep on.

The baseball season had finished in October, and the high school team Phil coached had made it to the state championships. His team was invited to tour the Arizona Diamondbacks stadium and take team photos in the stadium. He left early in the morning to meet the players at the school and would not be back to the house until late in the evening.

The bus Phil's team had taken to the stadium had a flat tire, and when he tried to call Renee and let her know he would be late his message went straight to voice mail. A half hour later he tried again. And again. When she didn't answer he called one of their neighbors, a nice young couple who had a couple kids. He asked if they could run over and knock on the door and see if she was home. They quickly called back and said no one answered and all the lights were out.

By the time the bus had dropped the players off at the parking lot, the feeling in the pit of Phil's stomach was overwhelming. Something felt off, but he could not put his finger on it. He hoped that he was worrying for nothing, but that did not stop him from speeding down the highway at breakneck speeds back to his home.

What he found when he arrived was what one detective described as, "Gruesome; the most disturbing display of humanity at its worst." There were items knocked around the kitchen and living room where an obvious struggle took place. In his bedroom Phil found Renee tied to the bed with gashes across her body and her clothes in shreds. She had been tied to the bed for over ten hours and likely unconscious for at least half the time.

Doctors confirmed that she had multiple organ failure and was being worked on in the ICU. A lung had collapsed and there was massive swelling around the heart. Her condition failed to improve, and before Bella could even catch a flight to Phoenix, her mother was already in the morgue.

The investigation was quick, although that did little to sooth the pain for Renee's family. The prints found at the scene were easily identified as a former sex offender who was released just before Renee and Phil moved back to Phoenix. Mismanaged paperwork from the police department resulted in not alerting the Dwyer's they were moving into a neighborhood with a sex offender. Riley was quickly apprehended and his secret shrine to Renee was revealed.

Riley's sentence was hardly the restitution his family sought. He was a convicted sex offender, and now a violent murder. His lawyer successfully argument mental insanity, and Riley was destined for a minimum-security prison that offered psychiatric services. The only solace that Renee's family could find would come in the form of an inmate at his prison found out he killed a preschool teacher and decided to beat him to a pulp. Riley survived, but physicians could not repair his left leg or arm, which had both been crushed.

After finding Renee in their bedroom in such a state led to Phil's mental breakdown. The strength he once embodied was all but obliterated. After the funeral, Bella with the help of Charlie, were able to convince him to voluntarily check into psychiatric hospital the specialized in this sort of trauma. He stayed for three months before moving back out to Florida and finding a regular psychiatrist. Bella would still call him on occasion and check in on his progress; Renee would have wanted them to watch over each other. Yet, she kept the calls short and spaced apart knowing that each conversation was still painful for each one of them.

Renee's closed casket funeral was not the closure Bella needed. Her mother was not killed by a stranger but someone she befriended. She had conversations with the man and never once considered her life to be endangered. The police who investigated her mother's death said that a person was much more likely to be assaulted by someone they knew then a stranger. But the greatest pain was that Riley had already been arrested for sexual assault, yet he was allowed to walk free unremorseful and strike again.

Because of Riley's inhuman actions Bella had lost a mother and her daughter would never know her grandmother. She felt so lost and powerless. Bella kissed her father goodbye in Phoenix and took her daughter back to Chicago. On the plane she hugged her tightly and sobbed quietly into her curly, bronze hair. Her daughter's soft snores were rhythmic and beautiful, a sign that there was a peace in this world.

Bella drove home from O'Hare and walked into her apartment to find Leah in the living room in the midst of a yoga pose. Leah looked up at her and sighed. Bella's eyes were still red and she had a death grip on her daughter.

For the second time Leah saved Bella that night. She pulled her into her arms and in an uncharacteristically manner, Leah nurtured her roommate. After laying Ellie down in her crib, she pulled Bella into the living room and sat her down on the couch. Her question surprised Bella.

"What do you fear most?"

"Losing Ellie," Bella replied without hesitation.

"What do you fear after that."

"Not being able to protect us."

"So what are we going to do about that?"

Bella stopped to think. She was not really sure. For the last year she was simply trying to survive, she rarely thought beyond that.

"I think I would like to take some self defense classes."

"That's a good start," Leah's tone approved, "I am going to join you."

"Really?" Bella was taken back by her response.

"Of course, two beefed up and angry women means no one is ever going touch a hair on Ellie's head. Or mine or your heads for that matter," Leah grabbed her water bottle from the table and took a sip, "While we are at it I've been wanting to take a kickboxing class for a while."

The next day Leah walked over to the local YMCA and signed the two of them up for self defense classes. Soon after they started kickboxing classes, which lead way to a joining a local marksman group, and then even some dabbling in fencing.

Feeling much fitter, stronger, and less vulnerable Bella was approached by the teacher in her self-defense class. Zafrina Ama, "Rina" for short, was impressed by Bella's tenacity. For someone so tiny, Bella was able to defend herself with ease during their simulated attacks. The additional extra curricular activities built her muscle mass and endurance. Bella did not have a temper, and it was obvious to tell that she would rather defuse a fight then pick one.

Rina was able to help Bella imagine a future where she could use her natural skills and abilities to help others. Rina was an instructor at Chicago Police Academy and specialized in training special victim unit officers. She had the precarious position of recruiting individuals that held the perfect balance between strength, audacity, and personality.

Bella was the ideal candidate. Her small stature was unassuming, less threatening for victims to feel at ease, yet she had the technique to disarm a perpetrator. She did not hold a temper, which would carry her well through precarious situations.

And although Rina did not say it out loud, Bella Swan had a vendetta against abusers. She would be a force to reckon with.

Bella did not accept the offer immediately. The job was dangerous and she had a small child to take care off. She could not imagine what would happen if something happened to her and Ellie lost her mother. She knew the pain of losing her own mother now, and she did not know how she could do the same for her own.

Of course it was Rina's job to be persistent. Each class that Bella would attend she would outline a few of the benefits. The most enticing was the pay and health care. Bella had been living on a hope and prayer that Ellie would not come down with any illnesses or have any need to visit the hospital. But that hope was reckless, and Bella knew it.

Rina would mention the vacation time and how nice it would be to take her daughter somewhere nice for a couple weeks every year. Bella was immediately flooded with images of taking her daughter camping, maybe exploring a different state every year, showing her the country.

Then Rina pulled out the big guns. She casually mentioned the retirement fund and matching college fund. Not only could Bella save up for her future, she could help to provide one for her daughter. Ellie could have a good savings for college, and that meant everything in the world to Bella. Of course there was one fund that Bella knew about, but Rina did not push as a selling point. There would also be more then enough money given to Ellie if she died in the line of duty to take care of her daughter for a lifetime. Bella hoped it would never come to that.

In the end Bella joined the academy because for the first time in a long time she felt empowered. This decision was hers and she would provide for her daughter. With her recent promotion she was saving up money so they could move into a small home of her own. Of course Bella was in way willing to give up having Leah close by, her presence was like a rock—solid, firm, and unrelenting. But Bella wanted more for her little girl and as she had already proven by moving away from Forks, willing to sacrifice it all.

Rina's apparitions were correct. She had imagined Bella as effective and courageous officer. She received updates from her superior officers stating how adept she was in the field and the valor she faced even in dangerous situations.

For Bella's part, she felt like she finally felt her calling. After years of having Charlie play the part of an overprotective father and Edward being the consummate possessive husband, she was ready to break out and take care of herself.

Before every shift Bella would sit in her squad car and give a silent prayer that she be protected, and to watch over the women and men who lived in the face of abusers. Her partner would rarely acknowledge the practice, but never entered the car until he saw that she was finished with her ritual. He figured it was always better to have God on their side when they pulled out of the lot and hit the streets.

Bella pulled her attention back to the present. She smiled at Charlie and answered with confidence, "You're right Dad, I have a lot to live for."

Ellie choose that moment to barrel into with a brightly colored sheet of paper, "Look Grandpa, its us!"

"Well look at this, gorgeous work Ellie-Pie. Why don't you make one that I can bring back to Uncle Jake, otherwise he might be jealous," Charlie smiled and Ellie ran from the room.

Charlie turned toward Bella and whispered incredulously, "She put me in a purple dress!"

"Ah, that means she likes you, her purple dress is her favorite. Let's go convince her to give Jake pony tails."

* * *

James Damon sat in his rental car outside of Bella's apartment building. It had been too easy to tail Charlie. He had almost hoped there would have been a bit more of a challenge. That was why he loved his job after all, the pure adrenaline and challenge of tracking people down.

When Esme called this morning and told him the news about Bella and Chicago, he had booked his flight before he even hung up. When Esme called him back and said she was on the same flight with Charlie, he put his plan into action. He knew that she planned on waiting for him outside the gate, but he created a contingency plan. Charlie Swan was a police chief after all, it was all together possible that he would be suspicious after his morning meet up with his old in-law that she would follow him.

James sat in a black rental car on the opposite side of the median and called Esme once he saw her enter her the cab. He let her know he was in place and ready. Just as he suspected, Charlie figured out Esme was there waiting. In a way his discovery helped out James, because Charlie let his guard down when he crossed the street and hopped into a cab driving off.

Following him through the streets was an easy feat, even if it was Chicago. Charlie was a good citizen must have told his cab driver that he needed to maintain the speed limit and obey all the traffic laws. For a while James banged his head against the steering wheel while mentally trying to push the speedometer of Charlie's cab faster.

The cab pulled outside a little brick apartment building. James noticed it was rather plain and he expected something a little nicer considering she divorced Edward Cullen. He wondered if Cullen had stiffed her in the divorce proceedings, figuring he probably made her sign a prenuptial agreement.

It was not James' job to question the people who signed his paycheck. He would speculate, but the gossip stopped at his head. The Cullen's hired him three months ago to find Bella Swan, and Esme made his job exceptionally easy this morning.

James pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to Esme with three little words that would end up giving him a nice monetary bonus.

_I found her._

**A rare endnote: Abuse and violence is no laughing matter, nor is it simply a plot device for creative writing. It is serious and real, often times glanced over by media. If someone you know is a victim of abuse, please, please, PLEASE, speak up. Sometimes the voiceless need a voice.**


	6. Thee Office

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine. **

"_Hast thou or word, or wit, or impudence, that can yet do thee office?" ~Measure for Measure _

**Chapter 6 – Thee Office**

Leah had stayed up late the night before compiling a laundry list of items to attend to. Now she sat in her office nursing a strong coffee while staring blankly at paperwork related to her newest client. Her mind was not focusing, a rarity for her.

"Damn it all," she muttered and closed the manila file.

It was obvious that Leah would not be able to concentrate on her case until she settled a few matters in her personal life. She picked up her phone and began dialing a number she had written down during her late night research.

"Hello, this is Claire," a soft voice answered the phone.

"Hi Claire, this is Leah. Did you receive my message?" There was a bit of a sigh on the line.

"Yes I did."

"Were you able to find out anything about Edward Cullen?"

"Leah," there was a slight hesitation in Claire's voice, "I don't feel comfortable passing around gossip like this."

Claire Ateara's indecision was hardly a roadblock for Leah. In fact, Leah expected as much and was more than willing to exploit her bloodline relations in order to extract the gossip from Fork's only hospital.

"I understand the conflict, but you know that talk down at the nurse's station is not privileged information under HIPA. We aren't talking about revealing medical records here. Anyways, I would appreciate your help and consider it a family favor. I know Jacob would see it as an act of kindness," it also helped to namedrop every once and a while. Leah knew that Jacob was in line to become the next tribal chief if he would ever man up and accept the responsibility. Claire's husband, Quil, was a good friend of Jacob's and would hardly let his buddy down.

"Jacob never mentioned anything about this," Claire hesitated, but Leah could hear the hint of uncertainly in her voice and was ready to pounce.

"In this circumstance it is better for appearances for him to not be involved," Leah added for her own amusement, "I am much better equipped for the dirty work."

"Fine," Claire relented, "but you didn't hear this from me."

"Agreed."

"The head nurse that usually works in Dr. Cullen's department mentioned that Edward finished up his residency in Seattle. He is in the processes of being recruited for several Cardiovascular Fellowship programs. The ones I remember her mentioning were Georgetown University and Mayo Clinic."

"Did she mention anything about Chicago?"

"I think she said U of Chicago, but that really wasn't his top choice. He was only going to visit as a courtesy for a friend of his father."

Leah considered this and briefly wondered if his encounter with Bella might push Chicago up on the list of candidates. She sincerely hoped he would go as far away as possible.

"Keep your ears open Claire, you have my phone number."

"Sure, sure," there was a pause on the line, "Do you still keep in contact with Bella?"

"I hear updates, she is doing well."

"That's good to know, we all miss her."

The two quickly finished the call without sharing any more information. As open as Leah expected Claire to be, she did not feel the obligation to reciprocate. It was Claire's job as a nurse at the same hospital as Edward's father that even put her on Leah's radar.

Leah was called in as a favor to help Bella by Jacob. With the exception of Charlie, Jacob, and Billy Black, no one knew the extent of Bella's situation. Jacob had done a good job of keeping most of the circumstances of her departure out of the ears of the tribe, but strategically let enough information leak through that they were angry with Edward Cullen.

Bella had been a fixture at the Quileute reservation as a child. Charlie would bring her there when she was only an ankle biter and let her play at La Push beach. Her quiet, yet commanding personality endeared the Black family, and by default made her friends with the tribe. As she grew older and her trips to Forks became infrequent after her parents' divorce, she was never forgotten. She returned for her last two years of high school to Forks and was immediately invited to events held on the reservation. Jacob would often call her the pale-Quileute.

The tribe knew that Edward betrayed their beloved Bella, but they did not know the extent. They would not speculate the cause out of respect for her, but they did blame her ex-husband for pulling her away from them once again. The Quileute lived as a family, and they mourned the separation from their child.

In some respects, Leah could have taken the tribes obvious preference as a reason to despise Bella. Where she had been outwardly shunned, Bella was welcomed in like the prodigal child. But her motives went beyond the rejection of her tribe; she was compelled by her position as a lady with disdain, scorned by men and a natural protector of the victim. It was her job to protect Bella. As much as she wanted to maintain her hard outer shell, she had softened to allow Bella and Ellie into her sphere of care.

Although Leah did not yet realize it, her continued protection of the Swans was a strong attempt to regain a sense of family. Her former bonds were all but lost upon leaving La Push, and now there was a sense of redemption in watching over her charges. She was not there to watch over her father in the last days of his life, but she would receive a bit of penance by saving Bella and Ellie.

Leah looked through her Outlook contacts before she came to one who may provide useful in discovering if Edward Cullen would be accepting a fellowship in Chicago. She picked up the phone and dialed the number.

Fellow scorned women were often the most likely to offer assistance.

* * *

Leah paid the taxi driver and stepped out in front of a small coffee house looking out toward Chicago Harbor. The last time she had been to this part of the city was on invitation to a Bears' game at Soldier Field. It was a dismal game that was lost against Green Bay, and her companion for the day had become increasingly drunk as the score worsened through the second half. Leah left his sorry ass at the stadium and found her own way home.

The coffee shop was one trying to find its identity, obviously trying to cater to the upscale residents living in housing around Grant Park, and the lowly college students attending the University of Illinois. Elegant lines clashed with bohemian fusion to create an utter confusion of interior design.

The shop did offer intimate booths, and this made it ideal for the conversation Leah was about to have. Her cohort was already seated and easily spotted with glowing blond hair and a striking figure, sensually sipping a Double Soy Latte. Leah scoffed at the drink, during their first encounter the blond haired beauty had mentioned that she had been a vegetarian for quite some time, but was now dabbling in veganism. Leah dismissed it as the act of a hoity academic.

"It is so good to see you again Tanya," Leah slid into her seat and gave her order to a barista that had appeared at her table—tall coffee, black, no sugar.

"Of course Leah, it has been too long." Tanya's hands wrapped around her drink as she leaned back comfortably in her chair. Leah did not even acknowledge the barista when she returned with her drink, simply taking the same relaxed position.

"Are things going well at the university?"

"The men are _going well_, if that's what you mean," Tanya cocked one eyebrow as her lips curled into a smile.

Leah laughed heartily. She saw how her former client had certainly turned her life around since her tumultuous divorce.

Leah Clearwater was nothing if not a woman of irony. A scorned woman who helped other scorned women and men exact retribution against their former spouses. She was never interested in the cases that ended amicably; she always deferred them to other members of the Chicago firm she worked for. No, Leah specialized in the cases which always steamed from a spouse who wanted to exact revenge.

It was not her originally choice for a law degree by any stretch of the imagination. When she was a small child sitting in tribal council meetings watching her father, Leah dreamed of working in environmental law. At the time she was really too young to properly articulate the exact vocation, but she could understand its essence. She wanted to take on the people who were destroying her home, _her earth_, and do it through the legal system.

When Leah left for Seattle, she left behind a great deal of her passion for the Quileute, and abandoned her once protective stance of preserving her culture and turned toward the more lucrative side of divorce law. The dollar signs were glaring at her, and for the first time she equated money with independence. Money transferred into independence from her father and independence from the tribe that cast her aside.

Leah's background in law also became another determining point for Jacob Black when he made the fateful call five years before. She was the only one he knew who was capable of freeing Bella from her marriage. Just as Jacob had anticipated, Edward would not willingly sign the divorce papers, and Leah had to turn to more extreme methods of securing their separation. Ellie's safety depended upon it.

One of her first cases when starting out at the Chicago firm involved Tanya, and her Slovakian born husband, Vasilii Smirnov. While Tanya admitted that she was a bit of a wild woman in her youth, her mother was insistent that she settle down and marry. To top off the "request" her trust fund would be withheld until she found a suitable young man.

Tanya was an academic at heart, and her passion was medicine. She had been accepted into some of the most prestigious universities across the country, and it did not hurt that when she turned up for in person interviews that her physical beauty left everyone speechless. The only impediment to her studies was the cost of tuition. Her family's wealth prohibited her from scholarships and federal loan eligibility. Yet, she could not access her funds without her mother's permission. Wanting her career above all else, she was willing to sacrifice her personal life and asked her mother for a list of male candidates.

It was a marriage of convenience. Vasilii Smirnov was a well respected member of higher society, and willing to move wherever Tanya requested to complete her schooling. In return, he propelled his social standing and had the free time to dabble in local politics.

It was not a marriage of love. Tanya knew it as soon as she spoke the vows and held nothing but contempt for this portion of her life. But the trust fund was released, and like many held back by the power of wealth, she assumed her life would become easier once it was acquired. Her medical degree was easily obtained, and she began her residency and went on to specialize in pediatric leukemia. Behind all of the alluring exterior and wealth, Tanya did have compassion and a will to help young children survive.

As with most marriages of convenience, it did not stay monogamous for long. Tanya was too busy with her studies and career to deviate from her marriage, but Vasilii was hardly occupied with his dalliances in politics. He soon found a mistress, and then another. Tanya knew about both but held her tongue.

But Tanya Smirnov could not find a word equivalent for "male mistress", and after that discovery she no longer remained silent. Her husband's third betrayal was painful and destroyed her dignity as a woman. With her trust fund now solely in her possession she sought out a lawyer to stop this absurd display of "marriage".

Tanya ended up at Leah's law firm, and although she certainly had the money to hire someone with more experience she could not hire someone with more tenacity than Ms. Clearwater. Leah went after Vasilii with every ounce of contempt she shouldered, and some ways it served as a therapeutic release. Tanya's instructions where specific, it was not just about draining him of money, it was about draining him of dignity. That meant the case would go public.

The story was easy to leak coming from a family that was descendent from high society, the distant relatives of Russian royalty. Beautiful Tanya made an easy martyr in print photos. Her former husband was much less press friendly, and was often caught on the street by reporters swearing and angry. Surrounded by his infidelity, his little love of politics was all but destroyed, and he became an isolated and bitter man.

Tanya's divorce was easily Leah's most high profile case. Rarely did any of her other clients end on the front pages of the society section. It was the case that propelled Leah to the forefront of Chicago divorce law. Hardly the respectable title she wanted to give at dinner parties to drum up business, "Hi, I'm Leah Clearwater, I specialize in divorce law. Do you know anyone who needs my services?"

Today Leah would find some consolation in her chosen profession. This particular contact could lead her to inside information to Edward Cullen, and a possible deterrent if he rerouted his career path to Chicago.

"Yes Tanya, I am sure the men are doing quite well under your watchful surgical eye."

"I haven't earned my cougar status for nothing."

After Tanya's divorce she returned to her maiden name. A newly freed Tanya Denali ushered herself into the world and returned to her youthful activities of catch and release. Catch the man, have her fun with him, and release him back into the wild. No attachments, no distractions.

Leah was well aware that Tanya's colleagues dubbed her the "Surgical Succubus" and she entertained quite a few of the University of Illinois students at her spacious apartment overlooking Lake Michigan. Leah was aware of this because Tanya proudly called her the first time she heard someone whisper it in the hall and needed to share the exciting news with someone.

"So you mentioned Edward Cullen when we talked on the phone. Are you going to spill some more info on this hottie," Tanya said while setting her cup down on the table.

"Well, what do you want to know," Leah hedged.

"For starters, is he single? Not that being with someone hasn't stopped me before, but it is nice to know what I am getting into."

"My, you are presumptive. What makes you think I want you to go after Edward?"

"Leah, does a leopard have fucking spots? Why else would you call me if you weren't trying to set me up with this guy? What is he; married and you want to catch him in the act?"

"No, he is very much single. But I don't even know if he is coming to stay in Chicago yet."

"Well that is a definite yes. The whole cardiology team is psyched up for the kid. Apparently they didn't think they had a chance of hell in selling him on coming here with the other offers he received."

"You know this for sure?"

"Damn straight I do. Whole hospital is up in a freaking tizzy fit, it looks like they have their new gold boy. If he is as good as they say, he'll probably bring in some big research dollars and a hell of a lot of good publicity," Tanya leaned forward putting her elbows on the table, "Which begs the question, what are we doing here?"

This news was exactly what Leah did not want to hear. Edward was definitely going to start snooping around, and the prospect pissed Leah off. She could not rationally understand why the man could just not give up and move on. Any other red blooded male would have taken the hint when the divorce papers hit the door that their relationship was over, but Bella had to hook onto the one man in all of Washington State who would not give up chasing after his bitter ex-wife.

"It would be helpful if you provided Edward with a …_distraction_?"

"Do I want to know why?"

"It would be better if you didn't know. It would also be better if he didn't know that we were connected either."

"Leah, you know I have always trusted your judgment. Not that it's killing me to be pushed toward a gorgeous specimen such as this, but should I be watching my back around him. Is he a bad guy?"

"As long as you stick with your usual strategy and don't get hooked on the guy, have fun with him. I just need him distracted for a little while so I can set everything up."

"Well Miss Clearwater, it looks like you have given me a new conquest," Tanya smirked and then waved to the counter to bring over her tab, "I knew hiring you would bring me a great deal of satisfaction in the end."

"Just promise to keep me posted. If you find out any information on him, phone number, house address, hell if there is a favorite restaurant he likes to go with you, send it my way."

"That's fine—I suppose you are not going to tell me why we are setting up this little game of ours?"

Leah stood from the table and handed the barista that appeared a bill, "Friends close Tanya, enemies much, _much _closer."

* * *

Edward watched as his mother's cab pulled in front of his town house. She did not appear to have any luggage with her other than her usual purse. The lack of baggage confused him and made him more suspicious of her motives.

Esme hugged her son and he led her into a house she had not seen in many years. It was apparent from the moment she stepped inside that quite a bit of renovating had occurred, but the bones of the home were unchanged.

"You have a wistful expression, whatcha thinking Mom?"

"This place just brings back a lot of memories. Gosh, it has been so long since they passed away."

"Dead Mom, they are dead. Passed away sounds like they are just wind blowing through town," Edward's faith was never his strongest asset. A deep part of him wanted to believe that there was an afterlife, because the thought he ended his mother's time on earth was too painful a burden for a son to bear. But the rational part of him always questioned how a child could loose his parents so early on in life. If there was a God, he was vengeful.

"Don't be so crude Edward. They are still here, watching out for their smart mouthed son."

Edward nodded at his Mother, not wanting to take on that particular discussion again. Instead he did what he could to turn the conversation around, "I see you didn't bring any luggage. Not even a carryon."

Esme blushed, if she had not been so anxious to get out of the airport and see Edward, she would have stopped at a department store to grab a bag and a change of clothes. Now she knew her son was suspicious.

"It was a quick decision. Your father and I did not want you to be alone while you put your parents home up for sale. How are you feeling about that sweetheart?" As good as Edward was at deflecting the conversation, Esme was the master. And although she did not want him to know about her following Charlie quite yet before she had any news, she was genuinely concerned about her son's welfare. In hindsight, she should have joined him here to put the house in order and make sure he could make it though this situation.

"About that," Edward pushed his hand through his hair nervously, "I'd tell you to sit down for this, but seeing as I don't have any furniture in here right now—"

"What's going on Edward?" Esme was instantly concerned, her mothering skills kicking into full gear.

"I decided to take the position here in Chicago. I'm going to stay in the townhouse—at least for a little while."

Silence. Esme was stunned and while her mind tried to sort out if this was a good or a bad idea Edward waited for her reaction. He expected her to be surprised, just as he expected his Father to be shocked when he planned on telling him the news. Confirming his decision out loud even stunned Edward a little before he recovered his composure.

"Edward, is this what you really want to do. Are you sure you are not overreacting to the shock of seeing Bella last night?"

Honestly, yes Edward was absolutely basing his decision solely off the chance encounter outside the theatre. Part of it spoke to there being a bit of fate involved, something Bella truly believed in. She tried to explain it to him in the manner of the Quileute teachings, but being a man of science he often dismissed this view on life. But finding her in the city of millions was simply too much of a coincidence to not reevaluate destiny. Of course he did not want to say this to his Mother, so he stayed silent. His silence was his admission of guilt.

"I see," Esme observed, "Well then, it looks like we are going to have to make arrangements to move your furniture here, and perhaps pick up some new pieces..."

"My realtor is going to help with that," Esme's eyebrows arched at his admission, "I am still going to keep the house up for sale, but I'm not going to make a push to sell until the market opens up in the spring. My realtor has experience staging homes."

Edward also thought to himself that his realtor was also a link to Bella, but for the time being he kept this information to himself.

Esme's concentration was broken by a beep from her phone singling an incoming text message. Three small words made her heart leap.

_I found her._

"Excuse me Edward, I have to make a quick call. Do you have a rental car?"

"Yes."

"Good, why don't you pull it around front and we'll go load up your kitchen with food—since you are staying here and all."

Edward headed out of the house and with his car key in hand, and Esme waited for James to take her call.

"_Esme, that was a quick reply_."

"Of course it was, what do you have?"

"_I am sitting outside of Bella Swan's apartment building right now. Her father is inside. As long as no one notices me, I am going to do a little tailing, find out where she works, pinpoint her daily schedule._"

"I want to see her, what's the address?"

"_Relax Esme, if you come jumping over here with guns blazing she will hightail it out of here faster then lightening. There is no need to panic_."

"I've waited five years for answers, I think that my patience has worn thin."

"_A couple more days and your questions will be answered_."

"Fine, two days. That is all I am giving you James." Esme hung up and gritted her teeth. She had two days to put together all the questions she had formulated since Bella left. She also had two days of keeping her newfound knowledge a secret from her son. Oh, she would tell him her whereabouts, but not until she had a chance to question her former daughter-in-law first.

A honk came from outside and Edward was waiting behind the wheel of his rental car. Esme quickly made sure the house was locked and headed out to meet her son.

* * *

While Esme Cullen joined her son in his car, James Damon was setting out for a stakeout in his. He briefly considered ordering pizza and having them deliver it to his car, but figured that might not work well in Chicago, although he did successfully pull it off in an overnight watch in Olympia. But James was not in Kansas anymore, and the only Toto nearby was a yapping Rottweiler who was the cause of his now throbbing headache.

James sat back in his seat and threw on some classic rock. Once he was comfortably settled into his temporary office, he pulled out a paisley folder and leafed through a set of photographs and information that Esme had compiled for him. He remembered groaning when she handed him the folder with the feminine print and watched his masculinity slowly walk away.

The contents of the folder ranged from photographs Esme compiled of Bella over the years she and Edward were together. One photo in particular always peaked his interest and spoke volumes for the type of relationship Bella and Edward shared. It was a simple snapshot, the two were outdoors and Bella was sitting in between Edward's legs. Edward's arms wrapped around her and reminded James of a metal cage. Bella looked calm, but somewhat diminutive in stature.

The most mesmerizing portion of the photograph was their eyes. Edward's stare into the camera was not harsh, but behind the love there was protectiveness. He held the stance of a shielding tiger coddling his cub.

Bella's eyes showed pure love and adoration. She did not give off the persona of someone with a complicated past or difficult personality. Everything he learned spoke of an all American girl who married her high school sweetheart. There was nothing there that would make James' believe she would leave and walk away from her family for no reason. Channeling his new feminine streak care of Esme to describe her, _Bella was simply glowing_.

Each photo displayed the same set of emotions only in different clothes and circumstances. A photo at what appeared to be Edward's birthday showed him ignoring his glowing cake and placing his entire focus on Bella. Bella was starring at the camera with the cheesiest grin on her face.

James could not find a single picture that would elude to a depressed or angry Bella. No sign that she would give up on her marriage and simply walk away. As a man astute in judging character for his career, he could find no evidence to explain why he was sitting here today outside an old apartment building tracking a wayward ex-wife.

What bothered James the most was he could not figure out the motive for her disappearance. She did not appear to be unhappy from any of his interviews with the Cullen's and a few of her old acquaintances in Forks and Seattle.

Bella certainly was not motivated by money as evidenced by her modest housing. From what James had learned in his background research, she was never who was set on acquiring assets and doubted with further investigating anything of value would turn up.

Despite the fact he worked for the Cullen's, James had a suspicion that the reason Bella left was due to do with a fallout with Edward. Judging from the sight of these photographs, it would have had to been a rather large event to push her away.

That was the innate problem with stakeouts such as this, James had far too much time to think and analyze every little detail. His overactive mind took hold and occupied him in his hunt. But he would never grow impatient in his tracking; it was the thrill of the hunt that kept him in his car. Once it grew dark he would take a walk closer to the building and get a feel for the layout.

Before his brain could run off any further he noticed movement from the front entrance of the worn apartment. The door swung open and Charlie Swan stepped out followed by a petite chestnut brown haired beauty. Even without the photographs Esme had provided, James would have recognized her as Charlie's daughter. Same hair color, same eyes, and same mannerisms.

An enthusiastic movement at Bella's hips was what caught her pursuer's attention.

"Wooo…what do we have here?" James pulled out the binoculars that were under his passenger seat. He pulled the lenses up to his eyes and clear as day he saw a curly chestnut brown haired mini-Bella dancing along the sidewalk.

James quickly riffled through his femme paisley folder and grabbed a random photograph. The kids' hair looked strikingly like Edwards.

"Shit, she is hiding a fucking kid!" James grabbed his camera off the seat with the nice 70-200mm lens and zoomed in for a tight shot. Through the viewfinder he could even see the child's eyes. Emerald green, dead on match with Edward Cullen, "The old lady is going to pee her Depends when she finds out she's a grandma. Holy shit."

The Swan's walked up to a ratty old light yellow Nissan Datson. James hadn't seen one of those clunkers since the late 1980's. Starting up the engine, James began his pursuit of the clunker, already hearing the bankroll when he showed Mrs. Moneybags the goods. Bella Swan was turning out to be a more interesting character then he originally imagined.

* * *

Bella made an executive decision that she was going to take her father and daughter out on an exciting evening on the town. She proudly walked her father to her latest pride and joy, her 1984 Datson. Paid for in full and barely rusting, Bella waved triumphantly at her vehicle.

Charlie just shook his head. His daughter was stubborn, and he knew he couldn't convince her that her 'pride and joy' was a death trap on wheels in Chicago traffic.

When her father and daughter were both safely strapped in Bella started up the engine and took off down the road.

"So what fine eating establishment are we going to tonight that is making you so excited?" Charlie asked.

"Chuck E Cheese's of course!" Bella replied with a flourish of her hand. Ellie squealed from the backseat and began bounding up and down. Even with her tiny body she was able to rock the Datson.

"Your tastes in restaurants has certainly changed Bells," Charlie joked.

"Hardly, I never liked going to those fancy places," Bella lowered her voice while her daughter was distracted singing to her favorite Tom Pease song about her belly button, "And this has definitely become my favorite because every time I leave Ellie falls asleep in seconds."

Charlie could not help but chuckle at his daughter's admission. He had pulled the same trick a few times when she was young. Of course, he did not have long to spend time with his little girl because when she was just about Ellie's age, Renee had filed for divorce and moved away from Forks.

Bella navigated the traffic and within twenty minutes they were all sitting at their table ordering a pizza. Ellie was regaling her grandfather with tales from preschool.

"A ghost haunted our class! And he left chocolate on my desk! Paul ate his fast and threw-up on my teacher. That kinda smelled," Bella had allowed Ellie one small glass of root beer because the kid was practically addicted to the sugar water, and suddenly every sentence out of her mouth ended with an exclamation. She started bouncing in her seat and Bella quickly banished her to the play area.

"I don't care how much bacteria they say is in one of those ball pits, they are the greatest idea ever. Survival of the fittest, the kids have to fight their way to the top" Bella sat down in a chair by the play area to watch Ellie. Charlie sat next to her.

"Builds character," Charlie smiled as Ellie leapt from the side of the pit and twisted into the mess of balls and bobbling children's heads, "With moves like that I bet you visit the hospital quite a bit."

"Thankfully she has not inherited my klutziness. You'd be proud though Dad, with all the training I've had, I pretty stable on me feet."

"How is that job of yours Bells?"

Bella smiled, "It's good Dad, really good. For the first time in a long time I feel at peace, like everything might just work out."

"Except last night," Charlie rubbed his hands over his scruffy face, "I have something to admit to you Bells."

Bella turned her attention away from the ball pit and looked at her father's worried eyes, "What is it Dad?"

"Esme followed me here to Chicago. Edward called her and told her about her encounter last night. I was able to lose her at the airport, but she is still trying to track you down," As much as Charlie wanted to keep his daughter in her contentment, he knew she had to be warned, "We might need to come up with a contingency plan."

"Damn it," Bella huffed eliciting a dirty look from a mother wiping the snotty nose of her child, "Leah should be back before my shift starts tonight. We'll sit down and work something out."

The Swans sat in relative silence. Both pondered ideas of how to throw Esme off and protect Ellie. Neither one was much for creating conversation, but somehow having the other's presence there was naturally comforting.

Something else started to creep into Bella's mind. She had the intuitive feeling in her stomach that usually happened when she was on duty, and her sense of self-preservation began to kick in.

"Dad," she turned toward him in a whisper, "I feel like someone is watching us."

"You grab Ellie, I am going to do a quick scan of the place," Charlie calmly stood up from his chair as if going to the bathroom. When he was out of the main play area, he stowed away in a corner. He did not see Esme or even Edward hiding out. He walked around the perimeter, but did not spot any suspicious people hiding out. There was an employee entrance by the kitchen and he wanted to discretely gain Bella's attention.

Charlie pulled out his cell phone and for only the second time in his life attempted to send a text message, "Stupid, tiny buttons," he muttered under his breath. It took in almost four minutes to write a few words in horrible English. He prayed Bella would understand it.

_Ext by bathroms. No Esme_.

Bella felt the vibrations in her pocket and ushered her daughter from the play area toward the bathrooms. Ellie was protesting and trying to squirm away, but Bella held on tight. She spotted her father hiding out in the shadows and followed him to the back door.

When they hit the back parking lot, Bella practically threw her daughter over her shoulders and began running military style to her car as if her petite body was not carrying a forty pound weight. Charlie was momentarily stunned and equally impressed by his daughters physical transformation before he too began running toward the yellow Datsun. Ellie had stopped her squirming and started to squeal in delight over the fun "ride" her mother was giving her.

Bella put Ellie in her car seat and flew to the front of the vehicle. As much as she wanted to spin out of the parking lot like she had done quite a few times in her squad car, she could not risk it with her daughter in the back. Charlie had positioned himself so that he was facing the rear of the car and looking out for any pursuers.

After a few minutes Bella finally spoke up just slightly above Ellie's kid CD that she was singing too in the back, oblivious of her grandfather and mother's distress.

"Do you think we overreacted?"

"No Bells, I don't." He turned and whispered, " We are being followed."

* * *

**Bella's car is a homage to my Mother's 1984 yellow Nissan Datsun that she refused to let go. Practically everyone could spot the darn thing, and when I was staying later for practice after school, someone would inevitably come in and say, "You're mom is waiting for you!" because that car was legendary in our town and easily recognizable for its ugliness. She finally sold the thing after owning it for 16 years. So today, I honor the memory of that bright, freakin' yellow Datsun—may you embarrass me one last time: RIP Nissan Datsun 1984-2000**


	7. Cut Away

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine. **

"_Thou art a disease that must be cut away." ~ Coriolanus _

**Chapter 7 – Cut Away**

Bella would not allow herself to panic. She was trained to handle precarious situations, but now that her father confirmed someone was following she moved in autopilot. Driving through town she did nothing to show her pursuer she was onto him. Pulling into a spot in front of her apartment building Bella reached under her father's seat and pulled out the locked gun box.

"Bella, you can't have that in here—," Charlie started to protest.

"You can have a concealed weapon in Illinois if you have a valid Firearm Owners ID Card. Mine is in my wallet," Bella began to open the case, "Dad, start taking Ellie into the apartment, I'll follow you into the entry and then exit out the back and pursue him. _Get her into the apartment and lock the door_."

Charlie was shocked at his daughter to say the least. He knew what she did for a living, but the realization that she was nursing a 9mm Glock in her hands made everything become more real. For once, he had to turn over the situation to his daughter and not play the part of protector. The situation unnerved him.

"Bella, let me check him out," Charlie pleaded.

"Dad, if there is one person I want protecting Ellie right now, it's you," Bella looked her father in the eyes and said calmly, "Her life means more to me then my own, surely you understand that?"

"And both of your lives are more important than mine," Charlie whispered.

Bella kissed him gently on the forehead, and he knew this was his little girl's way of saying that she was well equipped to take care of the situation.

Ellie looked on from the backseat, suddenly aware that the light mood from earlier had disappeared. Her grandfather walked around the car and unbuckled her. Instead of letting her walk to the front door like her mommy would usually do, he furled her into his arms. Ellie did not protest like she normally would for not being treated like a big girl, even at four she could feel that something was wrong.

Bella followed close behind. When they entered the building she threw her keys to Charlie who ran upstairs with his granddaughter. Bella waited until she heard the click of the door and the deadbolt in place before she moved from the entryway.

Bella took the hallway to the back exit. None of the other residents in the building were out, and she was thankful she did not see any in the back lot. She quickly checked her gun to make sure it was loaded and the safety was off. Lowering her arm to her side, she hedged out the back door and around the building.

Under the cover of night, Bella made her way through a few of the adjoining apartments backyards before she came to the street. If the perp was trailing her, his attention would be focused on the driver side of the vehicle to the apartment building. She crawled along the curb, keeping her body low to the ground a half back from where he was parked.

The street was quiet, this was part of the original draw to move into the area. For low income housing, the residents took pride in the appearance of their buildings. Even though it was still early in the evening, most were in their homes, finishing up dinner and relaxing.

The street being so quiet made Bella's job slightly more difficult. She did not want to make any sudden sounds that would alert her pursuer to her position. Instead she held firm, not afraid to drag herself across the debris in the filthy gutters.

As she drew closer, Bella recognized the small sticker on the back of the vehicle and immediately knew that he was driving a rental vehicle. It puzzled her, a rental car was traceable, and even if he used fake identification on the rental agreement, the clerk that checked him out could identify him. That immediately lessened the likelihood he was dangerous. Bella did not lower her defenses, but she did want to know the skill she was going up against.

Scraping across the gritty pavement, Bella pulled up alongside the rear of the car, making sure she was in the passenger-side mirror's blind spot. She rose from the ground cautiously, and from a quick scan of the car there did not appear to be any weapons. The most sophisticated device happened to be a Canon Mark III camera with 200mm lens, the type that Bella would use when she was on a stakeout.

Pulling her gun to ready position, Bella moved herself from the ground and leveled the weapon through the passenger side window at her pursuer. Before he could react to her movement she yelled at him.

"Get the fuck out of the car, keep your hands where I can see them and move slowly," Bella did not back down from her stance and her eyes were glued to the man in the car who did not look as scared as she wished he would. The man had a loaded gun leveled at his head and he nonchalantly opened his car door and stood in the street like this was an everyday occurrence. His indifference unnerved Bella, and her reaction was gauged appropriately.

Moving around the front of the vehicle, always make sure he was in sight; Bella came behind him and pushed him up against the door. She did not have anything to restrain his hands, so she put the gun down her pants to frisk him, not wanting to risk having him knock the weapon away. She felt him slightly tense, and when he tried to turn his head toward her to speak, she used her body to slam him back into the vehicle while she continued to feel if he had any weapons on him.

For his part James was in a state of shock. He did not expect Bella to realize he was trailing him. Charlie with his years on the force made sense, but he certainly did not expect this behavior from Bella.

Nothing in Esme's stupid little paisley folder could have prepared him to be straddling a car while being treated like a criminal. He was not physically a small man, but even with Bella's small stature he knew that he could not just run. She was well trained. James knew that Bella Swan was hiding much more then Esme Cullen could have imagined. She was not the meek woman that her mother-in-law described her as, there was nothing calm or demure about her.

James noticed a set of headlights coming down the quiet street. He contemplated using this as a distraction, hoping that the prospect of being discovered would throw Bella off. Before he could move, she slammed his body against the car once again and forced his hands over his head. The headlights cut out and he could hear someone coming near.

"Here Bells," he heard and felt Bella pull his arms behind him and wrap duct tape around his wrists. Then she put a piece across his eyes and mouth. _When that comes off_, James thought, _this is going to hurt like a motherfucker_—.

James did not even have a chance to finish his thought before he felt two sets of hands force him toward where the other car had parked. He was shoved into what he imagined was the backseat and then his feet were bound to each other.

A muffled voice came from outside the vehicle, "I'll search his car, and you call up to Charlie and let him know everything is all right."

After about fifteen minutes of silence, James heard the doors to the car open and it began to drive off without a word from either lady.

The silence unnerved James. With his eyesight gone his other senses were on higher alert. He could feel the presence of more then one person. He imagined it was Bella and the mystery lady who showed up with the damn duct tape.

Sitting in his own personal solitude, James tried to assess where he went wrong with the evening. Obviously his first mistake was underestimating Bella Swan. Replaying the events of the last hour he tried to assess where he could have prevented himself from becoming a hostage. He realized that there was not a single moment that she was not in control of the situation.

He followed them to the kiddie restaurant, and became slightly nauseated by the massive amount of children running around. When the Swan's went MIA from their table, he high tailed it back to his car. He saw their quick get-a-way. That was the obvious sign they knew something was up, but James chalked it up to the kid needing to change her diaper, it never crossed his mind that she was almost five years old and probably potty trained.

Tailing them back to the apartment, she did not drive erratically or try to lose him. Again, James mistook Bella's calm demeanor as dismissing his actions. He was dying for a high speed chase, maybe jumping through a few traffic lights, but the Swans appeared to be law abiding citizens who upheld every traffic law known. There was hardly any excitement in that.

When she finally came up along side his car with guns a blazing, he almost had a heart attack. Charlie Swan welding a gun, now that made sense. Bella Swan handing a gun, that was just crazy.

Yes, James knew that he went wrong when he underestimated Bella Swan. He knew not to make that mistake again, unfortunately it was too late. He was now being held captive in the back of a rather stinky old car with horrid shocks. At least they did not decide to really go all out in this abduction and throw him in the trunk.

The car drove for about fifteen minutes before it stopped. Absolutely disoriented, James heard the doors open and he was pulled from the backseat. At first he tried to resist hoping that he could cause a scene if anyone was around. But even making his body limp did not stop the two petite women. They lifted him up and dragged him to what he imagined was an elevator by the sound of the ding when a door opened.

He heard the telltale signs of the door closing and the felt the climb upwards. The odd sensation took over once again with his lack of sight. He imagined it took only several minutes to reach their destination when his captors dragged him out of the elevator and down what he imagined to be a hallway. The air had a fresh scent of sawdust, and roughness of the hallway suggested it was cement and no carpet had been laid.

James was heaved around a sharp corner hitting his back roughly against a wall. He yelped in pain before he was lifted and thrown onto a metal folding chair. Esme owed him a hell of a lot more money if he was going to take this kind of abuse.

A hand ripped the duct tape from his mouth. "Fuck!" James yelled in pain.

"Who the hell are you?" Bella demanded.

"Just a guy who was abducted for no good reason," James replied. He heard some papers shuffle around and cried out in pain when a punch was thrown to his stomach.

"Yeah, I am sure you don't know who I am. You know, with this file folder holding all of these pictures of me and my family," Bella took that opportunity to slap James in the face. It certainly was not her normal interrogation technique, but when he came after her and her daughter she felt the need to test out some new methods.

"If you want to walk away from this, you better start spilling some shit," a new voice came to the room that James did not recognize, "I have seen her mess up some guys who were not even tied up. You make a much nicer target."

"Let's start simple and see if you can handle it from there. Every time you lie to me, I will punish you. And trust me, I know when scum like you lie. What's your name?" Bella sneered.

"James."

"Alright James, who sent you here?"

"No one," James grimaced as Bella landed a kick to the side of his head. His teeth rattled from the blow, and blood started to trickle down his scalp. The worst part was not even the beating, it was not knowing what to expect with the stupid duct tape over his eyes blocking his view.

"Let's try this again, who sent you here?"

"Esme Cullen."

"Funny thing is that I probably could have told you that with the crap you have in this folder. But I wanted to see how honest you were going to be with me James," he heard the venom in her voice, "So far, not so good."

There was silence for a moment while footsteps circled his chair. Bella continued, "Now I know the telltale signs from your body when you lie. Keep that in mind. Second question, is she in Chicago?"

"Yes," James gritted through his aching teeth.

"Where is she staying?"

"I don't know," James felt a hand come to his face cupping his jaw. He could feel her breath on his face and knew she was inches away. Obviously content with his honesty, she let go of him.

"What were you going to tell her?"

"Where you lived so she could talk to you."

He felt the kick come to his side, and he immediately started to wheeze from the pain, "You are a slow learner James. That isn't all you were going to tell her. Otherwise you wouldn't have sat outside in a car with binoculars and a camera. _Stop lying to me_."

"I was going to tell her about the kid," In all his life James Damon had never been frightened of another person. He tracked people down and handed them over to his clients. Never once had he been discovered, and never had he been attacked in his pursuit. As much as he was enjoying the challenge that was Bella Swan, he did not like that his ass was being handed to her on a silver platter.

"And you were going to give her photos of her, weren't you?"

"Yes," James cringed. He heard something crash on the floor and steps come toward him once again.

"Oops, it looks like your camera broke," She threw something onto his lap with force and James yelped in pain, "And the memory card is mysteriously going to be snapped in half. How unfortunate."

"So here is the deal," the voice James did not recognize spoke up, "We don't really have a need for your useless body. But while we take care of a little business, you are going to hang out here."

"If you are lucky and we let you go, you can tell Esme where I live, but you don't say a word about the child," Bella snarled.

"And before you get all cocky and think you can weasel more cash out moneybags Cullen with your little tidbit of information, know this: we know who you are and where you live," the unfamiliar voice said, "You are going to deliver Esme to Bella and then you are going to walk away from this job."

"You wouldn't hurt me," James smirked.

His jeering was short lived as he was pushed from his chair and something blunt hit him in the head.

"Like hell I wouldn't. Right now I have gun at point blank range from your head. If you don't think I am dangerous, then you need to be quickly educated."

Of one thing James was absolutely certain; Bella Swan was manic. He could not understand how Esme would want to even associate with this woman. As far as he was concerned, Washington State was fortunate they rid themselves of her five years ago.

"Fine, so if I do what you ask, how do I know you won't hurt me?"

"Do you have any choice?"

* * *

Leah walked out of the room with Bella in tow. She was already on her way home when Charlie called her with a frantic message of someone following them and Bella going to check it out. When she saw Bella frisking the guy against a rental car, she went into her training mode from all of the self-defense classes, racing to her trunk and grabbing the first thing she found that could restrain him—a roll of duct tape.

Bella had the guy under control and together they threw him into the back of Leah's car. They both made quick work of checking on Charlie and cleaning out the guy's vehicle. While Leah drove away from the apartment building, Bella was going threw a file folder looking slightly irritated.

When they pulled up to a stop light she could see the contents of the folder. There were pictures of Bella with various members of the Cullen family. There also appeared to be a typed biography and interview questions. Leah wanted to know who the joker in the back of car was, and what he was doing following Bella. She already had a pretty good idea of who hired him.

With their hostage in the backseet, Leah took them to the only place that she could think of, the 12th floor of her law offices. Although her firm only occupied two of the floors, her boss owned the building and was in the process of renovating the 12th for a design business that was going to move in.

Leah knew they did not have long to take care of business; the contractors would be back in the morning to continue their build and the last thing she wanted them to find was a bloodied body in the suite. Looking back over James, she saw that Bella really did a number on him. She was not sure what they exactly taught her in the police academy, but even Leah was a little freaked out when Bella went all Rambo on him.

"I have to go into my shift. Should I call in?" Bella looked back as they turned out of the area they were keeping James.

"I can take care of him while you are gone," Leah looked at her with some concern, "Are you okay Bells, you really did a number on him."

"Oh please, I didn't even hit him full force. The nicking his scalp was an accident. I was more trying to shock him then hurt him."

"Well, you could have fooled me. I see you have been working on your roundhouse kick."

"I've been channeling Chuck Norris lately. But you know I do worse when apprehending perps on the street. Although my bite is pretty good, this time I was using more of my bark."

"Fair enough. So, I am going to drop him off and tail him tomorrow. Hopefully that gives Charlie enough time to clean home before you get back from your shift. I'll sit with him while he gives her the address, and then I will have to move him."

"Do you think we will have enough dirt on him by then?"

"Yeah, I called in a favor with my assistant, Gianna, to do a little overtime and start a background check. She is also working my connections on the west coast to find out a little bit more about his operation. Last resort, we bribe the sucker."

"I am so sorry Leah, I didn't want to pull you into anymore of my crap."

"I knew what I was signing up for when I picked you up in Forks. You and the kid keep my life interesting, that's for sure."

"Hey, didn't we want to buy a new house?" Bella joked.

"Yeah, yeah," Leah sighed, "But it looks like we will be homeless for a bit while we look for a place."

Leah figured that this course of events was really a blessing in disguise. She made good money as a divorce attorney and wanted to upgrade housing for the last year. She wanted to move before Ellie started kindergarten to put her into a better school district. Bella wanted this too, but her pride in taking care of her daughter and contribute to the housing fund made her reluctant.

As far as the turn of events over the last twenty-four hours, Leah looked at this as an omen to surpass Bella's stubbornness' and to put to rest Esme's meddling once and for all. Of course, the two of them had to take care of James before they could do anything else.

Bella made her way to the elevators while Leah walked back to where James sat. She stood before him and ripped the duct tape from his eyes.

"Holy shit!" he screamed through the pain.

"Damn, it looks like half of your eyebrow is on here," Leah examined the tape with slight interest.

"You couldn't use a handkerchief like normal kidnappers."

"Didn't have any pretty little handkerchief's in my car. Plenty of duct tape though," Leah grabbed the roll and held it up for James to see, "I could always put it back on if you criticize my abduction techniques."

"No, you are a fine kidnapper," James mumbled.

Leah walked out of the room for a few minutes and came back with a wet towel and water bottle. She walked up to his chair and started to wipe the dried blood from his head.

"Why are you doing this?"

"We don't want anyone to see that you had the crap beat out of you," Leah sneered before softening for a moment, "And despite the whole throwing you in the back of a car and holding you hostage, we aren't bad people."

"Could have fooled me, I've never been beaten like that before."

Leah cocked her eyebrow, "Never been beaten like that at all, or never been beaten like that by a girl?"

"I have never been beat like that, _period_. But I would have thought you knew that with all the stuff you supposedly dug up on me."

"I'll know a hell of a lot more in about an hour when my researcher drops off the pile of crap she found on you," Leah threw the dirty rag on the floor and pulled the cap off of the water bottle, "It's good to know people. Now open up so I can give you some water."

James greedily drank the water and rested his head back against the seat. He was given his instructions, and tomorrow morning he would lead Esme into what appeared like a trap. Of course, if he failed to do his part of their plan, he feared the consequences. If he was right, and the kid was Bella's, there was no doubt in his mind that she would do anything in her power make sure she was safe. James was not naive enough to exclude her pulling the trigger to the gun she so eloquently introduced him too.

For the first time in his life James admitted he was scared. Bella Swan had already caused him to defecate a little in his pants once tonight, he did not want a repeat performance.

* * *

Ellie was in bed when Bella arrived back at the apartment. She found her father in the living room quietly taking down family photos and putting them in a plastic bin he found in the bathroom.

"Bells, thank goodness you're okay," and in another uncharacteristic Swan family move, the father and daughter embraced again for the second time in one day.

"He isn't armed, looks like he is just a private investigator who messed with the wrong momma," Bella smirked, "I have to get ready for work, do you think you can take care of Ellie's room?"

"Don't worry Bells, you know I'm always here for you."

Bella went into Ellie's room and sat at the edge of her bed. She had to get ready for her shift, but with all the madness of the evening, she just wanted to hold her daughter.

This week was always stressful enough, now with Esme and Edward trying to track her down, she wanted to break down. If they found her daughter, everything she worked for would be done. That was the only thing keeping her from breaking down.

Once again Ellie's soft snores brought Bella home. She nuzzled her hair with her nose and smelled the sweet fruit fragrance. Bella had never understood why Edward would constantly sniff her locks when they would sit together. She once asked him when they first started dating in high school.

Edward's answer was simple, "I always want to remember your smell."

A young Bella thought the answer was odd. Who wanted to remember a smell? But now nestled into her daughter, she felt the need to commit this distinct smell to memory. Her princess shampoo had a floral tint to it. Doing a mommy move, she bent in and made sure her daughter's breathe smelled minty toothpaste fresh. All clear, grandpa Charlie made sure she brushed her teeth before she went to sleep.

Slowly sitting up from her bed, Bella gave a sad smile to the room. This was Ellie's nursery, and it grew with here into her first big girl bed. Although she was sad to see the crib go, Bella loved being able to snuggle with Ellie when she was falling asleep. She would never admit it to Leah, but she probably spent as many nights next to her daughter as she did in her own bed.

"Goodnight my little love," she whispered before sneaking out the door.

Bella went to her room to put on her dress clothes for work. She stepped out into the living room with some suitcases and handed them to her father.

"Hopefully this will help get you started. Just make sure you are there when she wakes up so she isn't startled, okay?"

"You know I'll take care of her Bells," Charlie sighed, "How do you know you can trust this guy not to tell Esme?"

"I am good at my job Dad, I think was persuaded."

"Do I even want to know how you achieved this?"

"Probably best if you don't know," Bella bent over and gave her Dad a kiss, "This is not how I imagined this week."

"I know sweetie, I wonder if Renee ordered you a bit of a distraction."

"Mom would never inflict the Cullen's on me as a distraction," Bella looked down at her watch, "I have to go Dad, are you sure you don't need me."

"Go into work kiddo, I have some packing to do."


	8. Infect My Eyes

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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"_Out of my sight! Thou dost infect my eyes." ~ Richard II_

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**Chapter 8 – Infect my Eyes**

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"James, James, James…" Leah muttered while she shook her head. She looked at the manila folder in her hands. Flipping through the pages that her assistant had put together and handed off to her in the stairwell ten minutes before she remarked, "It looks like you sir are amongst the scorned."

For his part James looked on disinterestedly. Leah had untied his arms and brought him down a bagel and a coffee from her office. He figured this had to be the most odd and pleasant kidnapping experience anyone could endure. Looking back, he was even slightly turned on by Bella's abuse in an odd sort of way.

That was the reason he had loved Vicki, she liked it rough.

"It says here that you petitioned for divorce on the grounds of 'irreconcilable differences', care to elaborate?" Leah looked up and smirked.

"Yeah, I wanted her to be my wife, and she wanted to be a whore," James mumbled biting into his bagel, "Do you have any cream cheese?"

"Here ya go," Leah tossed him a little packet and a plastic knife, "She got a nice deal out of this, looks like there was no prenup. Bad move on that one James."

"Bitch drained me dry. And I was the one who caught her banging another man."

"So I bet she would love to know that you were making a little money that is not reported to the government? Say—the money that Esme is paying you to track down Bella?" James growled at Leah's assessment. There was no way he would let his ex-wife find out about his unreported job and pull more alimony out of him. To him it was a matter of personal pride.

James Damon was a very bitter man when the subject of Vicki came up. In some ways, the manner in which everything came to a head was most likely retribution for his own treatment of his former spouse.

James first met Vicki when he finished college. At the time he had finished his undergraduate degree in business, but had no idea what he wanted to do next. Instead of going right away to graduate school, he elected to travel across the country.

Living out of his car for months on end, James considered himself a wanderer. Stopping in small towns across the country and generally finding himself at the counter of some backwoods bar became his life.

The stories he would hear were riddled with Americana. Old men on stools would tell him about their youth, the women they lost, the women they settled for, the jobs that moved away, the old men would say just about anything to a man who would listen.

In all of James' time hunting for what he should do next with his life, the only thing he was certain was that people were always searching for something else. There was never contentment from what was right there in front of them.

After six months of roaming, he found his way back to Seattle and started applying for jobs. His checking account was sorely depleted from his cross-country travels and now he faced an uphill battle in the job market. Finding a company that would hire a man fresh out of college with no real employment history and a six month gap in his resume was next to impossible.

Then the impossible happened. James found a job with a small e-commerce business. Their qualifications were simple; they wanted some fresh blood and someone who would work for next to nothing.

The company tried to make their deal sound more appealing by offering an employee stock program. James could have cared less, he would not see that money anyway, and they were far too small. But he accepted the sales position and after a month gathered enough in commissions to move out of his car into a small efficiency apartment above a sports bar.

In one day everything in James life changed. He was in his apartment after a long day of negotiations with a rather high profile company. The meeting had been a suicide mission, but his boss pawned it off on him and toted it as experience. James concluded that there was simply no way for them to land the account, and now all he wanted was a beer.

Wondering down to the bar that had a rather large crowd for a Wednesday, he bellied up to the bar and ordered a drink. It looked like there was a hockey game on and the crowd that gathered was going to get rowdy pretty quickly. James assumed he should just stick down there and watch the game since they would be too loud for him to get any decent sleep. He hunched over his drink and slammed it down and quickly ordered another.

"Look at you go there champ," a sultry voice said from beside James. He immediately broke from his daze and slightly marveled at the woman next to him.

Her auburn locks would flame under the pot lights over the bar, and her crooked grin made James' manhood twitch. Eyes that were an amber-brown stared at him under long, luscious eyelashes. She was not the most beautiful women James had ever seen, but she certainly had an ability to lure him in. In less than twenty seconds, she had managed to intrigue him.

Pulling himself out of his momentary ogling session, James managed to squeak out, "Would you like to join me?"

"Only if you can take me at a game of darts," and the mystery woman began to move effortlessly through the hockey fans and made his way to the back of the bar. At this moment he was more than willing to chase her through their drunken bodies to find her.

"By the way, nice pants," the woman looked down lingering without trepidation at his bulge.

James assessed himself and quickly realized that he was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt with pit stains. Obviously his wardrobe was not a part of what attracted this woman to him.

"By the way, I'm James."

"Good to know."

"Aren't you going to tell me yours?" James looked at her waiting for a reply. She walked up to him and rubbed a dart tip against his chest slowly. He let out a slow moan before she placed the darts into his hand.

"First you have to win the game. As a prize, I let you know my name."

James was slightly intrigued by her games. She was certainly more interesting than most of the women he was around and something about her made him want to chase after and make her be his. She presented a challenge and he wanted to win.

Walking up to the board, James put in the coins to start the game. He walked back to the line and took his first shot. _Bulls eye_. James turned to the woman and smirked before throwing his two remaining darts.

James cleared the board and handed the woman the darts. She stood and took her shots. Three bulls eyes.

She turned and looked at James with her crooked smirk, "Looks like you have to try _harder_."

The way her tongue curled around the last word made James start breathing heavily. The two drinks he downed at the bar were kicking in and he felt his courage rise.

"I am already _harder_," James stood inches away from the woman and the tension between the two was palpable. He was so close that he knew she could feel all of him press against her.

"Good," the smirk reappeared and the game was forgotten. James took her hand and led her through the back hallway to the stairway to his apartment. For once he was thankful for the rowdy patrons in the bar, because he planned on needing them to drown out the noise that was about to commence from above.

Never in his life had James experienced something so perfect in his bedroom. The woman found one of his silk ties and had him strapped to the bed. While she did unimaginable things to him, James realized that even if she tried to leave he would hunt her down. She was perfect for him.

When James woke the next morning, he was no longer strapped to the headboard. Next to him on the bed where she had lain was a small note with a phone number and "Vicki" written in a hurried script.

James assessed his body and relished the small bruises that formed where she had bit and sucked on his skin. He smiled at the small scratches on his shoulders where Vicki had clawed on him frantically as she screamed in delight. The marks of pain were filled with memories of pleasure. It took everything in him to not call the number that very second and order her back to his bed.

Instead, James took a shower hissing at the hot water that hit his sore muscles and dressed for work. The failure of his presentation the day before lingered on his memory and even the momentary distraction of the flaming red-head could not cover his disappointment in the suicide mission his boss placed upon him.

James took the phone number and put it in the breast pocket of his jacket to call during his lunch hour. He would wait a few hours to call Vicki. _Surly that would not be construed as desperation_, he construed as he made his way out to his office.

It was mid morning when James was called in to meet with the owner of the business. A thin man with meek face and an overbearing personality, James always thought of his boss a mixture between a clique scientist and a half hour infomercial pitchman. He would not be surprised if his boss was pimping his business while on a date.

"Corin, good to see you this morning," James put on a polite smile while Corin motioned for him to take a seat.

"Ah James, presentation went well yesterday," James noticed it was not a question.

"As well as could be expected. We all know that account was a long shot."

"Then you must be a miracle worker," Corin pushed his glasses further up his nose, "You left a good impression with Mr. Jenks."

"That is good to hear."

"So good in fact, he called ten minutes ago and agreed to work with us," Corin sat back in his chair and took a drink from his coffee. While he looked pleased, James looked on in slight shock.

"But that means we are doing the back end for the largest fucking retailer on the internet!"

"Yes it does," Corin smirked, "You have just made the both of us very rich men."

In just under a month, the stocks for the small e-commerce business skyrocketed when it was picked up through the financial markets their newest client was. James watched as his useless portion of company profits ballooned into making him a wealthy man.

The first weeks after the business meeting were hectic and filled with meetings and late nights. James would wake early, work relentlessly for hours, and wander back into his apartment half asleep. But when his commission check was deposited into his bank account, James nearly squealed.

James celebrated when he made it to his apartment by stopping downstairs and ordering a drink. He still had his suit on, but his tie was loose around his neck and the top buttons were undone. Reaching into his inside pocket to pay for his drink, James felt a small piece of paper come out.

Vicki's number was still in his breast pocket and in the same condition as the day he left it there. James was thankful he had been too busy to bring it into the dry cleaners.

He turned the paper around his fingers slowly. James had wanted to call her for weeks, but every time it would come to the front of his mind, business would stand in the way. Slamming back the drink, James pulled out his courage and took out his cell phone.

"_Hello_," a raspy voice answered.

"Vicki?"

"_Who is this?_"

"This is James—from the bar. Do you remember me?"

"_I remember you. It's a little late to be calling._"

"I could try you back at a better time?"

"_No, I mean it has been three weeks since we fucked. I don't wait around that long for a man._"

"I'm examining this slip of paper you left me and there isn't an expiration date anywhere on it."

"_You are such an asshole. Did you call me to ask me over for another quick fuck?_"

"There is nothing quick about what we did baby," James could hear Vicki take in a deep breath, "My job is what kept me from calling."

"_That is a crappy excuse._"

"But true. I barely had enough time to sleep in the last few weeks. But in the few minutes I had to myself, I keep thinking about you."

The line was silent. At first James thought she had hung up, but he could hear her soft breaths.

"_Fine, you get one more shot at this, but I don't wait. You've been warned._"

James and Vicki met up a couple days later. He was tired and drained from work, but he craved her touch. His cravings kept him calling her day after day. With his new income, James moved into a new condo minutes from the business district his office was in and he asked Vicki to move in with him.

The two moved fast, but James did not want to run and catch Vicki anymore. He wanted her by his side. They had been together for barely a year when he proposed.

Vicki said yes before the words barely finished coming out of James's mouth. Their engagement was short, and before he knew it James Damon was a married man.

Even though he committed more time to Vicki, James also faced more pressure from Corin to bring in more clients. Most days James barely had time to sleep, moreover be with Vicki. His wife was so desperate for intimacy that she would sneak into his office at lunch to take him on his desk.

James loved having even the briefest moments with her. Vicki's skin was pale and flawless. His hands could rise across her flawless body and instantly make him content. Her mere presence was intoxicating, and he planned a surprise vacation to Fiji to thank her for understanding the pressure he was facing from Corin.

Putting together his latest proposal for an emerging online trade company, James headed to Corin's office to give him the news. He hoped his boss would not give him any reason to delay his vacation with Vicki. Corin had already done it twice with two new projects, that was why James had been so reluctant to give his wife any forewarning on his plans. He knew she would be angry if they set something up just for him to call it off.

Corin felt gracious when he gave the 'okay' and James set off back to his desk to clean up and leave. The office was cleared out and he headed back to his home and wife.

He did not expect to step into his home and find Vicki naked in their bedroom messing around with the potbellied neighbor. Their neighbor's scraggly beard was nuzzled into his wife's chest when James collected himself enough to announce his presence.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" When the potbellied neighbor sat in stunned disbelief that an angry, armed husband had caught him, James clarified his position by running into the closet and pulling out his hunting rifle.

The neighbor ran from the house and did not even stop to grab his clothes. James sat in disbelief before his wife spoke up.

"I was just going to come downstairs and wait for you."

"And you stopped because your ass ran into our neighbor's cock?"

"You were running late again!"

"And that is an excuse? I was cleaning everything up at work so that I could surprise you with a trip to Fiji."

"Really," Vicki licked her lips and hummed, "I cannot wait."

"You're kidding me, right?" James looked exasperated; "There is no way in hell we are still going. You fucked that little perv, what's his name, in my house—and—and you have _the nerve_ to think we are still going away on a little vacation!"

"He doesn't mean anything," Vicki stepped forward and ran her finger down James' chest, "I'm just staying occupied while you are busy."

"Fuck my life," James muttered before returning the riffle to its case. Just as quickly as his marriage began, it fell apart. The divorce proceedings were tumultuous at best, and when the dust cleared, James Damon was left a bitter and untrusting man.

* * *

"Fuck that shit," James muttered to himself.

"So you are going to be cooperative then?" Leah glared at James.

"Might as well. Esme gets what she wants—to talk to Bella. I get what I want—my paycheck."

"I am so glad you are agreeable."

"Whatever. Can you toss me some creamer for my coffee?"

* * *

Esme was busy cleaning her son's townhouse. It had been years since she stepped foot inside the brick building, but even with the passage of time, she still felt old memories flood back to her.

Edward told his mother he was out at a meeting with the hospital, and that he would be back within a couple hours. Esme had taken it upon herself to begin preparing the house for Edward's stay. As she used a broom to sweep some of the cobwebs that were left undisturbed during the renovation, an ardent thought popped into her head.

_You are bringing them back together Liz, I know it_.

Esme was not a bible-toting woman by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, she could not help but believe her older sister was interceding in her son's life. After all, Edward was Liz's son first. Esme sat the broom down and walked into the room that was once Edward's nursery. She walked over to the unadorned window seat and looked around the empty room.

_Liz, you would have loved Edward. He was such a beautiful child. His father's unruly hair, but his eyes! Those are yours._

Looking around the empty space, Esme clearly remembered how her sister fussed over where the crib was located. Not in front of a drafty window, or next to a cold outside wall. No, the baby would sleep in the warm middle of the room. Easy for her to rush to him in the middle of the night when he awoke. Liz Masen was nothing if not meticulous in how her son would be raised.

_I am trying Liz, I am trying to bring Edward's Bella back. I feel like I failed you_.

The silent house did not answer Esme's silent pleas. Only the sound of the dry autumn leaves rustling across the concrete a story below let her know the world was not still.

Esme stood from the window seat and walked from the room. The sound of her phone ringing echoed through the empty home.

"James, what did you find out?" Esme asked after checking the caller id.

"_If her work schedule is correct, she should be home in about an hour. Charlie appears to be out as well_"

"This is it then."

"_Just_," there was a pause on the line, "_just don't get your hopes up, alright?_"

"All I have is hope," Esme hung up and paced in the hallway. This was it, this was the time she would finally be able to confront Bella and find out exactly why she left. And with any luck, she would be able to keep her promise to her older sister.

Esme called for a cab and was told they would be there within fifteen minutes to pick her up. She took the time to compose herself and left a paper note on the kitchen counter in case Edward arrived home early letting him know she was out shopping. Of course, shop she would not.

* * *

Go to the hospital Edward would not. At least not this morning. He told his mother he had an early meeting there, but in truth he had asked Picia to meet him and find a bedroom set since he had absolutely no furnishings.

Picia easily agreed to meet with Edward, especially when he laid on his innate charm. She had a few hours before her husband finished his shift, and she desperately wanted to learn more about the man who had claimed to be Bella's husband.

For his part, Edward was equally intrigued to learn more about Picia Turi. They met up at an antique shop only five minutes from his townhouse. Picia assured him there would be some hidden treasures inside that would not only leave an impression on potential buyers memories, but would work well with his own tastes.

They met outside of the store and fell into a comfortable conversation as the browsed through the crowded rooms. There was barely any walking space between the antiques, but Picia had a remarkable sense of spotting items buried underneath piles of rubbish to find truly remarkable pieces.

"My mother would appreciate your style," Edward remarked as Picia pointed him toward a mahogany headboard with intricate scroll work.

"Then your mother must have remarkable taste," Picia smiled as she made a note in the pad she was carrying around with room dimensions, "This looks like it may be the perfect height to fill the space. Lets keep this in mind as we continue around the space."

They continued through the crowded space and Edward realized that the store extended back further then he anticipated. Thankfully he was navigating their way through. Their polite conversation continued and Edward tried to push ever so slightly to gain more information.

"So your last name, Turi, that doesn't sound Italian. Didn't you mention your husband was from Italy?"

"Oh, no it isn't. It's my maiden name—Scandinavian I believe."

"Very modern of you to keep your own name."

"Not really, my husband suggested it."

"Really? That's unusual."

Picia sighed, "I would have preferred to take his name, but my husband's job is high risk. He thought it would help to keep me safe."

"How's that?" Edward asked.

"He works for the Chicago police department. He is a detective, and some of the cases he works on are fairly high profile."

Although Edward did not realize the connection to Bella was closer then he thought, he filed the information away for later use. In his mind Bella was connected to Picia, and not her husband.

Picia, in her own delayed intuitiveness, realized she had said too much to this man. His demeanor was so genuine, and his voice so soothing she could not help but want to be honest with him. The only thing that kept her from being any more open was the knowledge that Bella did not want him to know anything about her. Picia's husband would tell her that keeping Bella's personal information safe was paramount to any gossip she wanted to share with her high profile client.

Instead Picia tried to divert the conversation to her advantage. She was pointing out a rare matching pair of side tables that would work beautifully with the headboard they had seen earlier.

"Beautiful, aren't they. Rare to see them together," Picia bent down and looked under the drawer, "Ah, yes. These were made by a local Chicago craftsman in the early 1900's."

"They do look nice."

"And they are a fantastic bargain," Picia dropped her voice to a whisper, "Don't let the shop owner know, but he is underselling them by at least half of what they are worth."

"How do you know that?" Edward asked, suddenly interested by her enthusiasm for the pieces.

"They had a similar table up for auction by the same craftsman a couple years ago. That table sold for quite a penny, and it did not even have its matching mate," Picia smoothed her fingers across the surface of the slightly dusty top, "But these are still together and in pristine condition."

"I guess we are in luck then."

"Certainly, it's a shame when one table is missing from the set. Loses its way for whatever reason, wouldn't you agree? Sometimes they are damaged, stolen, maybe needs to be pawned. So many reasons for it to lose its mate."

Edward cocked his eyebrow. He was certain the conversation had turned from tables to something more abstract, "Sometimes I bet one just disappears for no reason at all."

Picia's face flushed. Her probing had gone too far. She wanted desperately to ask Edward about his and Bella's relationship. But she knew without a doubt to do so would invite him to ask what she knew about Bella. Suddenly her ambitious goal of making a sale of Edward's pricy townhouse did not seem to be in her best interest.

"Edward, I'm not sure if this is going to work out with us working together. Perhaps I can refer you to another realtor in my agency."

"Oh no!" Edward panicked, "I—um—I wouldn't feel comfortable working with anyone else. It has to be you."

"I work with some fine folks that I could introduce you too. But, I don't think I am comfortable with this. You have to understand what a position I am in—"

"I do Picia, I do. Please understand where I am coming from. I know no one in Chicago. I am trying to sell my childhood home. There are few people I can trust," Edward looked her straight in the eye, "I trust you."

Picia wanted to argue with him. She had not told her husband about her new client yet, and she was not certain she would. Something in the back of her mind made her believe that befriending him would be better then pushing him away. She would not push him away if only to know what he was going to do next. If he had any intention of seeking Bella out, and if he provided any threat to Marc, Picia wanted to know.

"Let's bring the owner over to pay for these items and set up a delivery."

Edward smiled to himself. He had not lost his connection to Bella, but he now knew he had to tread lightly. Picia was his lifeline, and to him the only way he would ever see Bella again.

"Thank you," Edward said quietly and looked at the tables he was about to purchase. Two beautifully crafted pieces, but when he looked a little closer, he could see the slight wear from years of use. Although not deterring from the beauty of the pieces, is certainly made him aware of the imperfections. Even though the two remained together, they had not escaped a small amount of mistreatment at some point in their journey.

The shop owner came forward nodding toward the tables, "These are the ones you want us to deliver, are they going to work for you?"

"Yes, these are the ones. They are perfect."


	9. The Deceiving Part Freezes

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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"_Thou shall stand in fire up to the navel and in ice up to th'heart, and there th'offending part burns and the deceiving part freezes." ~The Two Noble Kinsmen_

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**Chapter 9 – The Deceiving Part Freezes**

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The cab pulled in front of a simple brick apartment building and Esme looked at it in confusion for several moments.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Esme asked the cab driver.

"Yes ma'am, same address you gave me."

Esme handed the driver her fare and thanked him before stepping out into the street. She clutched her purse tightly to her side and took a deep breath.

When her son was in the midst of his divorce, Esme did not ask for details on the financial proceedings. She knew he was disgruntled, and her assumption was that Bella had tried to take more then her fair share.

But the cheap feel of the neighborhood made her quickly reconsider her long held assumption. Certainly, if Bella had received even a fraction of her son's wealth she would not be living in a tiny and only moderately maintained apartment building.

Waiting in the yard, Esme looked down at her watch. If James was correct, Bella should be home in about fifteen minutes. This was it; this was her chance to finally receive the answers she had been so desperately seeking. She moved to the side of the building and waited out of direct eyesight of the front door. Esme did not want to alert Bella of her presence and frighten her off.

A rusting yellow Nissan pulled up in front of the apartment complex taking one of the last parking spaces on the street. Esme would normally have looked the other way at such a decrepit vehicle, but when a woman she had not seen in five years stepped onto the curb, her attention was drawn in.

It was the similarities of the Bella from five years ago that made her recognizable. She had the same chestnut brown hair and the same small stature. Her eyes were the same perfect replica of Charlie, and her nose still turned up just slightly at the end.

It was the differences that made Esme look twice to confirm it was her former daughter-in-law. Her small physique was now more lean and even with the long sleeved shirt she wore, she could see the muscle definition of her arms and abdomen. The manner in which she walked was more confident. Her hair was not down and hiding her face like the Bella in her memory, this Bella had her hair pulled into a low pony tail, easily displaying the features of her face.

As Bella made her way to the front entrance of what Esme viewed as a decrepit apartment building, she halted her steps on the first step, turned to where Esme was hiding and sighed.

"You used to be much better at being discrete," Bella stepped down and back onto the sidewalk, "Esme, stop trying to hide in the shadows."

An appropriately abashed Esme stepped forward, still clutching her purse as if a mugger would jump out a hedge and attack her, although it was apparent that she was the only one in the neighborhood hiding in bushes. She quickly straightened herself out and reminded herself that she had been waiting for this moment for quite some time. She could not afford to be nervous.

"Bella, I would like to talk with you."

"Although I would like to say that I do not want to talk with you, it's really not your fault that anything happened," Bella took in a breath before she continued, "And I am sure Edward never told you anything."

"No, no he won't."

"Then let's go inside, I don't want to give my neighbors a show."

Bella walked to the front steps and opened the door waiting for Esme to follow. She went up a set of stairs and entered a narrow hallway. At the end she opened a door and beckoned for her former mother-in-law to follow.

The apartment was small from Esme's estimation. A tiny galley kitchen was off to one side and opened up into a cramped living room. It was sparsely furnished, and everything inside looked well worn. Esme immediately noticed that there were no photographs displayed in the living space, something about that seemed odd to her.

_Did she really not want to remember anyone?_

Esme's thoughts were in a jumble. Not only was Bella far away from her family and friends, she was here alone. Her maternal side began to kick in and she instinctively ran to Bella and threw her arms around her in an embrace.

Of course Esme was not aware that the only hug Bella was used to was petite and derived from the arms of a four year old. When Bella felt a stronger grasp around her body's instinct kicked in and made her feel as if a perpetrator was attacking her. Bella moved her arms into the grasp and was able to use the force of her body to push Esme away, and _push hard_.

It took a moment for Bella to realize what she had done, and when she did there was instant remorse.

"Esme, I am so sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's alright, I shouldn't have thought beforehand. You wouldn't want that from me anymore," Esme rubbed her arm that had hit the couch when she was pushed backwards.

"No, no it's not that. I just—" Bella saw the small glimmer of hope in Esme's eyes and realized her mistake, "Maybe it is that. But I am sorry to hurt you, let me take a look at your arm."

"It's fine. Maybe we could just sit down?"

"Could I get you anything to drink? I have—" Bella went to her refrigerator and made a quick inventory, "Milk, lots of juice, water. I could make some tea or coffee?"

"Water is fine, thank you."

Bella took the moment to compose herself. She made a quick assessment with the apartment and realized that Charlie had been thorough with his "cleaning". There was not a single sign that would alert Esme a four-year-old lived in the space. Bella was curious how he covered up the crayon drawing in Ellie's bedroom that she so eloquently created a few days before.

Bella handed a glass of water to Esme and sat down on her favorite worn lazy boy recliner.

"So, how are you doing Bella?" Esme said trying to be polite.

"I'm fine. Esme, I think it is quite obvious what you want to talk about, is it really necessary for the small talk?"

"I'm just—" Esme looked down at her hands. On the cab ride over she was trying to channel all of the emotions that she built up over the last five years, but now sitting down across from Bella her original plan dissipated, "_I'm just nervous_. Bella, I have been waiting so long to know what happened, to know what was _so awful_ to pull you away from us."

"Esme, if I am being honest, I don't want to tell you anymore then Edward."

"Why Bella? Why all of the secrecy?"

"Because I would rather have you hate me then Edward."

There it was again, Esme remembered Charlie's words from back in Forks, _"Bella doesn't have to hide anything. She just doesn't want you to hate your son." _

"I cannot take it anymore," Esme's usually calm voice rose forcefully, "I want to know the truth."

"But will you believe it?" Bella questioned.

"It's the only truth I have," Esme whispered while setting down the glass of water she had yet to touch, "Please Bella."

"Once I finish, I expect you to leave me in peace."

Esme simply nodded knowing she had no bargaining chip and let Bella tell her of her family's demise.

* * *

"Edward and I had a lot of plans. Gosh, we talked about all of our dreams. He wanted to open a private practice so his hours would be better. I talked about finishing my book. One of my professors even sent me the name of an agent to help me submit it to some publishing firms.

"I finished up my degree and we bought our house, Edward was on the fast track to medical school.

"It was about three months after we moved in that I found out we were going to have a baby. Edward was excited; he said he wanted a large family. I joked that he just wanted me barefoot and pregnant. I wasn't quite ready. To be honest, I wanted to find out if my book could be published and knew that book tours and publicity events would be out of the question. It was selfish, but I also wanted more alone time with Edward.

"But those thoughts went away after about two minutes. This was our child and I already loved him."

Esme stopped Bella, "I never knew you were pregnant, why didn't you tell us?"

"We were going to tell you. In fact we had planned that dinner at that little Italian place in Port Angeles."

"But you cancelled?"

"Yeah, we did," Bella shifted in her seat and blinked back the threatening tears, "But there were complications.

"Edward was at a late shift at the hospital and I was home alone. I started feeling a pain in my abdomen. Of course I feared the worst, and then when I looked down and saw blood everything started to go fuzzy.

"I remember trying to reach Edward on his cell phone but getting the answering machine. When he didn't pick up I started to walk out to my car, but I don't remember even getting to the front door.

"One of my neighbors saw me collapse on the front steps and called 911. The next thing I remember I woke up groggy in a hospital room and Edward was sleeping sitting up in a chair beside my bed.

"I lost the baby Esme. It was a little boy. The doctors tried to explain how my cervix was weak, and the issue compounded by the benign growths in my uterus. They told me how I lost a lot of blood, I could have died. But to be honest, I couldn't care about that.

"The only thing that mattered was that my son was dead, I never even had a chance to hold him. He less than one pound, and his underdeveloped organs could not support his body. Edward wanted to call you and tell you what happened. He thought that I would need my family.

"He was probably right, but at that time all I wanted to do was mourn our son alone. Part of me didn't want to admit he was truly gone. The other part of me was still in shock from my procedure.

"The doctors were able to save my uterus, but they told me how if I became pregnant again that I was almost certain to lose the child." Bella took a deep breath, "And there was a likelihood that I would suffer complications as well."

The two women sat in silence while Bella allowed Esme to digest the information. Bella pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest. The tears that had threatened to fall before now stained her cheeks. She had mourned her son every day, but it was not a burden she wanted to give to anyone else. It was her personal load to carry, she did not even want Edward to take a piece of the pain.

The minutes dragged on before Esme finally spoke up, and when she did Bella saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I couldn't take the looks anymore. Every time a nurse would walk into my room she would look at me with such pity. I didn't want their pity, I wanted my son!" Bella took in a breath and composed herself, "I screamed and yelled at Edward that he couldn't tell anyone unless I was ready—but I was _never ready _to admit my boy was dead."

"Is that why you left?" Esme's voice was diminutive.

Bella sighed before she released the hold on her legs. Putting her elbows to her knees she bowed her head for a moment before looking back up, "No, not directly.

It was at this point that Bella realized she had to tread lightly. If she said the wrong thing she might bring on Esme's suspicion. She promised the truth, but knew it would be the edited version.

"At first I thought Edward was keeping his promise to not talk about our son's death as respect to me. But it became apparent that his behavior was for another purpose.

"He blamed our child for hurting me. And in a way he blamed himself for not being there when I was bleeding, or for even getting me pregnant in the first place."

"But that's ridiculous!" Esme sat up straight and pounded her hand into the sofa, "How could he have known you couldn't have a child? That everything would happen when he was at work?"

"I know that, but you know Edward. He always takes everything on to himself. Instead of talking with me he started to go through other options. He planned to get a vasectomy so that there was no way I would get pregnant, he started researching adoption options…_but he never talked to me about any of it_. It wasn't until I saw the pamphlets in his study at the house when I was cleaning that I confronted him about the whole thing.

"I was so mad, we had just lost our son and he was planning everything without me. I felt so lost and alone. It was as if he thought he knew what was best for us, and he stopped talking with me. In his mind he probably thought he was helping by taking care of 'our problem' but I really just wanted him to be there for me."

Bella stood up and looked across the room at Esme, "Excuse me a minute, I need to—I need a moment." She walked into her small kitchen and searched through the cupboard above her refrigerator. She pulled out a bottle of cheap scotch and a couple of glasses. Bella hated the stuff, but Leah liked the manly taste. Right now it could have tasted like horse crap, but as long as it gave her a buzz she was going to pour a glass.

For her part Esme remained silent as she watched Bella down half the glass in one quick swallow. Esme was envious of Bella for being able to numb her body with the alcohol, but she reminded herself that she needed to stay in her right mind for this conversation. She waited patiently while Bella poured another glass and walked back to the couch.

"Sorry about that, as hard as that part is—well I just want to be numb right now." Bella put her drink on the coffee table before beginning again, "But we started talking again, and things felt like they could be normal for us again.

"Edward put off his surgery, and we took extra precautions when we were intimate to make sure I wouldn't get pregnant," The scotch started to kick in and Bella suddenly blushed about the prospect of discussing the details of making love to her ex-husband's mother even if she was leaving the details vague, "We had not been together for months after our son's death. And I finally felt like I could heal when Edward would be so attentive to me, showed me that he still loved me despite everything that had happened."

Bella thought back to the tender moments the shared together when they finally made love after her time in the hospital. Edward was so gentle with her body, caressing her softly. It felt odd for Edward to be wearing a condom again, something they had not done since their high school days. But it was the only way Bella could get him to be intimate, there was no way he would compromise on the point.

Edward would kiss her and whisper words of adoration in her ears. That first time when they finished, lying in each other's arms they cried.

"I felt almost whole again," Bella remembered, "Never fully whole, but at least more at ease."

"You never once let on that there was anything wrong Bella. I don't understand, if things were getting better, why did you leave? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I thought they were getting better, at least on the surface. But I didn't realize how deeply everything affected Edward. He let on such a cool demeanor. Then there was the night of the News Year's party Alice decided to throw. Do you remember?"

"Of course I do, she said only a few old friends were invited and most of Forks ended up at the house," Esme reminisced remembering how her youngest child had hoodwinked her once again into causing a huge ruckus.

"Yes, Alice did always know how to throw a party. I am still sorry about the chair, I tried to stop Mike Newton from standing on it and dancing like a wacko, but he wouldn't listen."

"It's alright Bella, why don't you continue."

"Anyways," Bella picked up the scotch and took another drink. Her speech was slowing just slightly, but enough that Esme was beginning to pick up on it, "That night Emmitt was a bit tipsy, which I thought was hilarious since he is such a huge guy. He was all excited and pulled me aside. He said to me, '_Bella, I can't keep this in anymore, I have to tell someone_.'

"I told him to go ahead and he got this big grin on his face, '_My Rosie is pregnant, I am going to be a papa!_' He was so over joyed, '_Don't tell anyone yet, Rosie wants to wait, or secret, okay Bells?'_

"I tried my hardest to just smile and give him a hug. But all I could think about is my boy. Emmitt was going to be a dad, but I couldn't give that to Edward. All those feelings of insecurity came back.

"I remembered drinking a lot that night. I wanted to be really numb again. Edward didn't notice that I was getting tipsy, and then I started to get him some drinks too. By the time the New Year struck, we were both practically on the floor.

"I wanted those feelings of failure gone. But the only way I thought of washing them away was by taking Edward and make love to me. I barely remember walking up the stairs to his old bedroom, of us taking our clothes off and making love. In fact, I don't even know if what we did that night could be constituted as 'love making', but you probably don't want to hear about that part of your son's life.

"We were not as safe as Edward wanted us to be on any other occasion. It just so happened that in that one instance he didn't wear his extra protection. And I didn't know that the medication that I was put on when I left the hospital also made my birth control not as effective.

"When I figured out I was pregnant again, I wanted to cry. Unlike the last time, it didn't even take the two minutes to realize I wanted that child. I loved my baby, my little nudger. I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that baby lived, and hoped that Edward would see it as our second chance to have a family.

"Edward came home from the hospital in the early morning after an all day shift. I woke up early and waited for him to come home. As soon as took off his jacket I walked over to him and showed him my little home pregnancy test. I thought he would see my hope, see that we would have a child together after all. But the words that came out of his mouth frightened me.

"He said, '_Don't worry. You are going to be fine. We're going to take care of this' _

"To which I replied, 'What do you mean, take care of this?'

"Edward looked at me and shook his head as if it was the most obvious thing that I was missing, '_We are going to get that thing out of your body before it causes any problems. I won't fail you this time_.'

"All I could hear were the words, '_that thing_'. Edward did not see another chance at our child growing in me; he saw something that was going to hurt me.

"Edward already had his phone pulled out, and even though it was late he was calling to make an appointment. He told me that he knew a fantastic clinic that made him an opening in couple hours.

"I was in such shock by his action. Edward didn't even ask me what I wanted to do, he just ushered me upstairs to take a shower and told me to relax while he made some breakfast. His calmness almost unnerved me; I walked upstairs like a zombie and stood under the warm stream of water until my skin was raw.

"I dressed and went back downstairs where Edward had already made up two plates of breakfast. The food looked unappetizing. When I didn't touch my food he spoke up, '_I know your nervous Bella, but we are going to take care of this_.'

"After a minute I remember finally being able to push the words out, 'You really don't want our child?'

"Edward just stared at me like I had something growing out of my forehead, '_That thing is just going to cause you heartache. God Bella, its going to kill you. Of course we need to take care of it!_'

"He calmed down after a minute and then took my untouched plate. All that numbness I was trying to get past came rushing back. Our baby, he wanted to kill our baby! I couldn't care less about my own life, but our child deserved a place in this world.

"I let the numbness fill me, protect me. Edward practically lifted me to the car and drove me to the clinic. He brought me inside and filled out all of the forms. I was so in shock, I couldn't even cry or plead with him to stop.

"A nurse called me back and Edward stood to go with me. I remember just shaking my head 'no', I didn't want him in there when I did such a shameful thing. He didn't want our child, and the selfish part of me didn't want him there when then second child we had conceived was once again ripped from my body. The last time I wasn't even conscious for, but this time I was going to be there and I didn't want his hate to be a part of it.

"Walking into that exam room was the single most horrific moment of my life. And when I walked out instead of the remorse that I had hoped Edward would show for the life we had taken, he was smiling.

"I was his wife, but once again I let him make a decision that affected the both of us without ever really consulting me. He never once asked me what I wanted to do, but I accept my end of the responsibility as well. I should have stood up to him—I should have waited!

It took Bella a moment to realize that Esme had moved off of the couch and was now crouched at her feet. Her smooth fingers caressing Bella's callused hands. The remorse in Esme's eyes was almost too much for Bella to take.

Because Bella had left out the most important part of the story to Esme. When Bella Cullen walked into a sterile room and the nurse directed her to sit on an exam table, she complied. The nurse talked to her about the procedure, but Bella was not listening. She was biding her time.

When the nurse asked Bella to change into a hospital gown and wait for the doctor to come in to perform the procedure, she said it would not be necessary. Bella Cullen stood up and informed the nurse that she would not be having an abortion, and that she would like to wait in the room for a little bit before she informed her husband.

The nurse simply nodded before taking her paperwork and walking out of the room. Bella sat back down on the exam table and put her head in her hands. She was not a very religious person; she did not see what she had done as rectifying some moral wrong. The only thing she knew was that she wanted this child more then anything in the world, and at that moment she was willing to sacrifice her life if it meant making sure this baby, her little nudger, survived.

Of one thing Bella Cullen was certain, if she stayed her husband would continue to push her to get rid of their child, or hate their baby if something happened to her. Neither was an option. So before she walked out of the sterile room, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number she had not used in a long time.

"Hello Jake, it's Bella…I—I need your help."

And so it began. Bella walked out to the lobby to find Edward waiting patiently. He informed her how he already made an appointment with a specialist at the hospital. Always the diligent one, he wanted to make sure everything was healing well from her 'procedure'.

Edward also informed Bella that he had scheduled his vasectomy to happen in a couple of weeks. He drove her home and pampered his wife devotedly even though he had not slept since before his twenty-four hour shift started the day before. But what Bella really wanted was for him to leave her alone.

Bella would not have her wish until Edward clocked into the hospital the next day. Assuring him that she was fine and able to move around the house on her own accord, Bella sent Jacob Black a text message. He pulled into her driveway fifteen minutes later with a pick-up truck. The two worked quickly to pack only what was necessary or too sentimental for Bella to leave behind. When all was said and done, Bella had a couple suitcases worth of clothes, a small box of books, and a box filled with a couple photo albums and other trinkets.

Everything else Bella left behind. "It's just you and me now little nudger," Bella whispered to her stomach. She bent down and set an envelope on the dining room table, the only word on the outside in her script— 'Edward'.

"Come on Bells, lets get going! We have to drive to Forks. I have some news too, an old friend from the res is going to help you…"

Jacob helped Bella into the truck and took off immediately to keep them on schedule. Edward would be at the hospital for forty-eight hours, and in that time Bella had to be able to put some distance between herself and her husband.

So when Esme began to show remorse for her son's actions, Bella wanted no part of it. She had deceived this woman before her, and now she would continue to keep the existence of her granddaughter—alive and healthy—a secret from her.

If Esme found out about Ellie and told Edward, he would have every right to go after Bella for kidnapping his daughter. Bella did not know if her former husband had become a vindictive man, but she knew that legally he had every right to his daughter. He not only had the law on his side, but the money to hire the best attorneys to take on his case. But morally, there was no way Bella would ever let the man that wanted to kill her daughter suddenly step into her life.

Esme rose to her feet, tears streaming down her face, "Would it be alright if I used your bathroom to freshen up?"

"Yeah, its down the hall," Bella muttered while picking up the glass of scotch to finish it up. Even though she knew there was a small happy ending in the story, for some reason the rest was too much for her heart. Before she realized it was too late, Esme opened the wrong door.

"Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to pry in your apartment, bathroom must be this one," Esme directed herself to the closed door across the hall.

As soon as the door was shut, Bella jumped from her seat and opened Ellie's bedroom door. Inside the room was cleared of her furniture and toys. All that remained was a small desk that was dragged from Leah's bedroom and a filing cabinet that was covering Ellie's artistic crayon work.

"Thank you Charlie," Bella murmured as she walked back down the small hallway.

"What was that about Charlie? Where is he anyway?" Esme had practically snuck up behind Bella.

"Oh, Charlie was running some errands for me since I had to work earlier," Bella gritted her teeth at the lie.

"Where do you work now Bella? I always thought you were going to be a writer?"

"Things change," Bella said flatly and said no more.

"Oh," was Esme's only response.

"Esme, I told you I would give you the truth. You have it all. Now I am going to ask you to leave."

"But I've just found you. Bella, no matter what, I still think of you as my daughter," Esme reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Even if I would allow your grandchild to be killed?" Bella hissed in reply.

Esme's refreshed face was once again littered with tears, "I only want you and Edward to be happy. He hasn't been happy since the day you left him. No one in the family has truly been at peace."

"I don't live for happiness anymore Esme, I just live to survive," _And live so that maybe one day Ellie can have the happy ever after that I dreamed of once upon a time_, Bella thought to herself.

"I know it had to be difficult Bella, but you could have worked things out. Why? Why did you have to leave?" Esme pleaded, her voice slowly weakening from the pain of Bella's admissions.

"I thought that was obvious," Bella walked to the door and opened it to usher Esme out, "I couldn't be the kind of wife Edward wanted, and maybe even the wife he needed. And Edward couldn't be the kind of father I thought he would be."

Once Esme was in the hallway, she tried a final appeal, "Bella, come home. We miss you, _we still love you_. Make our family complete again."

"Our family would always be missing one member, to me the most important one. Esme, please move on, for you sake, for the family. For Edward. Just—just move on," Bella shut the door and put her back against it before sliding down slowly to the ground.

Bella was certain she could still hear Esme sobbing outside the door, and only after her former mother-in-law's quiet footsteps carried her away did Bella allow herself one more round of tears. She stood and picked up the scotch glass and full water cup from the living room.

Once everything was picked up and put away, Bella pulled out her phone, pressed speed dial before muttering the simple words—

"I'm ready."


	10. False Heart

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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"_False face must hide what the false heart doth know." ~from Macbeth_

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**Chapter 10 – False Heart**

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Edward stood in his new living room and surveyed the new furniture that had just been delivered after his shopping trip with Picia. The larger pieces had already been moved to their respective rooms by the delivery men, but the smaller ones were left to be distributed throughout the townhouse.

Edward did not know how he was going to explain the sudden influx of furniture to his mom, since he had told her his morning would be filled with meetings at the hospital. He was hoping Esme would not ask, but he knew she was much too observant to let something like that go.

The front door opened and Edward assumed that his mother had finished her shopping. He took in a deep breath and hoped that the excuse he conjured up would distract Esme enough not to ask any questions.

Edward was prepared to greet his mother and distract her with the new purchases. He was going to use the opportunity to help him arrange the rooms and divert her with the promise that she could help him pick out some accessories. That was until he walked into the front hallway and saw that she was not carrying any bags.

"Mom, it's not like you to go to a store and walk out without a bag," Edward chuckled as he shut the door behind her.

Esme was noticeably quiet as she proceeded into the front hall. Her overcoat covered her body in a matronly fashion and only left her calves and sturdy pumps visible. When she turned to look at her son, the only thing that marred her perfect 1940's housewife persona was the tearstains that streaked across her cheeks.

"I wasn't out shopping," she whispered before ducking her head and drawing in a deep breath.

"What's the matter Mom?" Edward rushed to Esme's side and pulled her into an embrace, "Are you all right?"

Esme was far from being all right. Bella's revelation put her into a tailspin, and the only thing she could remember of the two hours since she left her former daughter-in-law's apartment was calling for a cab and asking him to mindlessly drive around the city.

In the back of the cab she tried to reconcile her conflicting emotions. If a psychologist had been following her progressions through the stages of grief, he would have thrown them out the window. Esme bounced between depression, denial, anger, bargaining, and back between them all again. Never once did she find herself in acceptance.

Torn and not knowing what to do, Esme finally gave the cab driver her son's address. She had finally stabilized her emotions enough to pull herself between the understanding of what Edward had asked Bella to do, and the knowledge that he loved his wife so much he was willing to make the sacrifice of his child. Either side of the pendulum promised heartache, but it was which side that Esme could not decide to swing too.

The only thing she had determined was that it was time for her to be honest. Standing in that hall she wrenched her hands into nervous grips before speaking to Edward, "I found Bella."

Edward stood in the hallway stunned by his mother's admission, "What…what do you mean?"

"I tracked down Bella and spoke to her," Esme looked up at the boy she had long thought of as her son. His eyes held the same stunned and distraught look he held the night she and Carlisle told him his parents had died.

"Where is she? What did she say," Edward grabbed Esme's face and pulled it up, "Tell me Mom, I have to see her!"

"She's—Edward, why didn't you tell me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me about the miscarriage? Or that Bella had an abortion?"

Edward was silenced. The moment Esme had said she found Bella his thoughts had focused solely around going to her. He wanted to touch her, bring her home to him. The sudden change of conversation threw him off guard.

"She told you?"

"Yes," Esme's reply was simple, "Edward, we could have helped her. We could have helped you. My goodness, even now I can see that she is devastated by the loss of her children."

"There was nothing to help. She didn't want to talk about the miscarriage."

"And the abortion, you can't tell me she didn't want to think about that?"

"There was nothing to think about. That thing was going to kill her!"

"I don't think Bella ever thought of her child as a 'thing'."

Edward had never felt so tense toward the woman he had come to think of as his mother. Esme had always been his rock and kept him strong. Even when everyone else in his family had told him to move on after Bella had left, she was the one person who stuck by his side and insisted that he not give up hope. But now, it seemed as even she was turning on him.

"She is in pain Edward! What are going to do, barge into her apartment and pull her back here?"

"If I have too," Edward muttered.

"Dammit Edward, you never told me anything. This changes everything! All this time I walked along with you in blind faith. I knew if I didn't go there before you I would never find out anything. If you can't even be honest with me how are you going to talk to Bella?"

"I lost her then, and I can't lose her now. Mom, you have to tell me where she is," Edward tried to remain calm, but Esme was trying his patience.

"It's your mistake to make," Esme paced down the hall for a minute before she pulled a slip of paper from her overcoat pocket. She walked up to Edward and placed the slip into his hand before snarling out in disdain, "Don't ever call your child a 'thing'."

Edward stood in shock for a moment as Esme turned away from him and walked up the stairs before closing a door on the second floor. He had never heard such venom in her voice, and he could feel his body tremor as he processed her simple words.

He fought the urge to run upstairs after her. Instead opened his fist to find what was on the slip of paper—an address written in Esme's delicate script.

"Bella," he whispered and ran out the front door without a second thought.

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Esme stood in her sister's former bedroom. She looked at the freshly painted walls before collapsing to her knees in tearless sobs.

_I failed you_, she thought. _He's going to rush into this and nothing about him has changed_.

"What would you have done Liz?" Esme finally spoke out loud, "How would you have made him see reason?"

Esme was mourning the loss of two grandchildren she would never know. She felt robbed of the opportunity to know them, and even more devastated that Edward and Bella had kept their very existence from her. She was angry, angry with God that he would take from her family a grandson and mar a beautiful woman from having a peaceful pregnancy. She was enraged that Edward would push his wife to abort his child and that Bella would follow along so blindly.

Mostly she felt foolish for waiting so long to hear the truth.

"I would have died for my child!" Esme screamed to the barren room and clutched her hair with her hands.

The room did not answer back Esme's plea. She sat for what felt like hours, but in reality were only minutes before picking up her cell phone. Dialing the only person who could comfort her, she crouched over the floor in defeat.

"_Esme—Esme are you there? You're not saying anything?_"

"Carlisle, I talked with Bella."

"_Are you alright dear?_"

"She was pregnant Carlisle. Bella had a miscarriage!" Esme paused for a moment to gather her breath, "The doctors said that any other pregnancy could hurt her, and then they were pregnant again and she had an abortion. Edward pushed her to, and—and I don't think she wanted it. That's why she left."

There was a pause on the line. Esme thought that Carlisle was processing the information; she was not expecting the next words to come from his mouth.

"_I know_."

Esme clutched the phone for a moment in shock and drew in a deep breath before expelling the statement, "I don't understand."

"_Bella wanted a second opinion after the miscarriage and she came to me. I didn't know about the abortion, the last time she came to my office was a check-up from her surgery._"

"Carlisle, how could you hide this from me? You knew all along I've been searching for her."

"_She was my patient, I couldn't tell anyone, even you dear. Bella expressly requested that I keep our meeting away from even Edward_, _she didn't want to give him too much hope unless I could_ _reverse the diagnosis,"_ there was a pause on the line, "_Esme, I am so sorry. You have to know that it was never intentional—_"

Carlisle was not given a chance to explain himself to his wife. She hung up on him for the first time in their marriage and set her cell phone to the floor. Almost instantaneously the phone began ringing and Carlisle's number appeared on the screen. In a dazed state Esme stood up and walked out of her sister's bedroom and down the stairs to a now vacant home.

Edward's rental car was gone, and she could barely spot taillights shining at the end of the street. Esme did not know if she should hate Edward, Bella, or herself more. She didn't know if it even mattered anymore.

For so long Esme had hinged on the hope that whatever mysterious force had pulled Bella away from her son could be reconciled.

All the while her phone continued to ring from the second floor bedroom, but the muffled sound was blocked out by her fervent sobs.

Walking out the back door of the townhouse into the small outdoor yard, Esme looked to the sky and felt the cool autumn air wrap around her.

"I know what you would have done Liz," Esme lifted her head higher and felt the rays of light warm her face, "Because you have already done it."

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Edward plugged the address into the GPS of his rental car. He cursed the vehicle's poor maneuverability and was thankful that his Volvo would be arriving from Washington in the next few days along with some of his other furniture from his home. _Their home_.

Edward had a moment to think as he was forced to break at a stoplight. He thought back to the joy he and Bella shared as they purchased their home in Seattle. The first night in the home he carried her over the threshold and ravished her in the entryway. Neither one had the patience to wait until they reached the upstairs bedroom.

They hardly had any furniture then to fill the home, most were hand-me-downs from Esme and Carlisle, and a couple of pieces that moved from their college dorm rooms to their first apartment, and found a temporary spot in the newlywed's home. A couple of Escher posters adorned the walls. Despite the bareness of the house, with Bella in his arms Edward had found home.

The light turned to green and Edward immediately pulled himself from his thoughts and followed the monochromatic voice giving him directions.

If Esme's reaction to Bella's apartment was shock, the repulsion in Edward's face was infinitely more powerful.

"This can't be it," Edward muttered to himself. The worn out brick building would not even have held up to the worst house in their hometown of Forks.

Edward did not want to believe that his love was living in such a depressed area. Immediately his thoughts centered on her safety. Such a derelict place could house any number of indigents within its walls. _What if she was attacked while coming in late for groceries? Who would look after her?_

A protective growl rose from Edward's chest. Now he was even more bound and determined to drag Bella from this place by force if necessary. He would worry about the repercussions later.

Edward stepped out of his rental car and walked to the front entrance. He became even more enraged when he realized the front door was not even locked and the keypad looked to be out of order. He walked into the front hallway and began looking around at the door numbers. The glanced at Esme's handwriting and figured Bella's apartment must be upstairs.

The carpet on the stairs was warn and balding in some places, and Edward continued to scowl. He had wanted to give Bella more money in the divorce proceedings, if nothing else to look after her while he convinced her to come back to him. She had flat out refused stating through her lawyer that she wanted no ties to her former husband.

That day was the only time he had seen Bella in person since she suddenly left, and he remembered how frustrated the day had made him to be so close but not able to reach her.

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Edward was sitting in the small arbitration room with his attorney, Garrett Harsin. Garrett had been an understanding man under the circumstances. His client was not forthcoming with a lot of information, and he was not entirely sure that Edward was not to blame for the dissolution of his marriage.

No one in his family had seen Bella for months, and Edward was certain she was not in the area. All of the court documents had been funneled through Charlie's house, but whenever he would drive by, Bella was never there. Edward had gone so far as to camp out in the woods near the house overnight to catch her coming in, but Bella never arrived.

But today, Edward would finally see her after months of communicating through lawyers.

The door opened to the room and Edward sat up taller. In walked a tall Quileute woman that Edward knew from the mailed responses was Leah Clearwater. He held his breath as the petite chestnut brown followed close behind.

Edward moved to stand up, but Garrett grabbed his arm and forced him into his seat. The Bella standing before him was frailer, her eyes looked sunken in, and she moved gingerly to her chair. Never once did she look up at Edward, and this alone unnerved him.

"Bella, what's wrong? Bella, are you okay?" Edward's voice was filled with panic.

"Please direct your questions through me Mr. Cullen," Leah replied firmly.

"Talk to me Bella!" Edward broke from Garrett's grasp and started to move to the other side of the table. He had tunnel vision and he could only see his Bella.

Leah stood from her chair and quickly blocked Edward from approaching his wife. Though smaller then Edward, she stood with authority and snarled, "If you cannot handle yourself, I will ask the judge to be present and remove my client from the room."

Garrett moved to Edward's side and led him back to his seat. Never once did Edward take his eyes off of Bella as he shuffled backwards and sat back down. His body trembled and ached to touch her, to sooth her.

A tall spindly man entered the room and surveyed the people present.

"Ladies, gentlemen thank you for being on time."

"Mr. Clapp, it is good to see you again," Garrett said pleasantly though all he could feel was tension in the small room.

"Thank you. Let's get this mediation started with, shall we?" Clapp looked down at his notes to make a quick review, "It looks like there is really nothing being contested. Mrs. Cullen has agreed to leave all of the financial assets and property to Mr. Cullen. In addition, there is no request for any additional financial compensation from either side—"

"That's not true, I made a request to provide Bella with alimony," Edward cut in and turned toward his wife, "Bella, if you aren't going to tell me why you are leaving me, at least let me take care of you."

"Mr. Cullen, you are to address me," Leah broke in, "We have already viewed the request and rejected it. My client wishes to have no further ties with you."

Edward threw his hands into the air, "You can't be serious! Bella, let's cut the crap. Why do you insist on going ahead with this divorce?"

"Mrs. Cullen has requested all communication go through her attorney, I will ask you only once to refrain from any further outbursts," Clapp eyed up Edward before settling back into his chair, "The negotiation stage is over, and today is simply the formality of signing the papers and dissolving the marriage."

For the first time since she walked into the room, Bella looked up and into Edward's eyes. His heart almost broke when he say something behind her brown eyelashes he had never seen before –_defeat_.

"_Bella_," Edward mouthed silently, pleadingly, "_Please_."

His heart broke as his love closed her eyes for a breath before taking the pen Leah had handed her. Clapp had pushed a stack of papers toward Leah, who in turn put them before Bella. In only a moment she initialed several pages that Leah pointed her too, and in one last slash, signed her married name for the last time, _Bella Cullen_. She delicately set the pen onto the paperwork before sliding it across the table to Edward.

Bella did not look up again, and in that small space of time Edward saw his life crumble apart. His hands shook as he held the papers in his hand.

"I am not signing this," Edward muttered as he set the papers on the table.

Clapp spoke up, "Is this what you would advise your client Mr. Harsin?"

Garrett turned toward Edward, "Be reasonable Edward, she is not asking for any monetary compensation or even any physical property. You are not losing out one bit," he sighed, "By not signing the papers you are only making this marriage 'contested', you are not going to stop the divorce from proceeding."

"I don't care," Edward looked up trying to find Bella's eyes, "I don't believe the words on this paper. This does not mean our marriage is done," he shoved the papers back toward Clapp.

"Very well," Clapp looked over the papers, "This looks as if it will remain a contested marriage. I will proceed accordingly and alert both parties when the final paperwork is available."

Leah rose from her chair and glared at Edward before helping Bella to her feet. Edward was plainly aware that she was shaky as she rose from her seat and was leaning heavily on Leah's arm.

Edward rushed around the table and tried to reach for Bella, but Leah had already brought her outside the door before walking back into the room and shutting it behind her.

"Mr. Harsin, Mr. Clapp, I would like to request for my client's mental state that you hold Mr. Cullen in the room until his ex-wife is able to vacate the building," Leah never once addressed Edward during the exchange, but he could feel her piercing tone.

"Very well, please have Mrs. Cullen out of the building within five minutes," Clapp said before walking toward the door to block Edward's exit.

"Not a problem," Leah turned to Edward and scowled before exiting the room.

"She can't do that!" Edward protested.

"It's at Mr. Clapp's discretion," Garrett said as he picked up his papers and moved to stand beside Clapp. He firmly believed after Edward's behavior after only twenty minutes in the small room he was fully willing to plow through their arbitrator and into the hallway after Bella.

"This can't be it," Edward paced the room, "She never even said a word!"

"Son, a little piece of advice from an old man." Clapp addressed Edward, "After sitting in after many of these sessions, sometimes it is better to just cut your losses,"

"No, no _no…_" Edward moaned, "She just walked out, she never said why. I need to talk with her, I need to fix this!"

The three men remained silent. Edward paced the room looking intermittently at the clock.

"It's been five minutes, let me out of here," Edward pushed through Garrett and Clapp and ran through the hallway. He was in the parking lot quickly and searching desperately for any sign of Bella. A slow misty rain had begun, and he stood under it with his hands grabbing his hair.

Bella was already gone.

* * *

Edward stood in front of the door to Bella's apartment, and he suddenly had the feeling of jubilation. The excitement was strange to him having been so forlorn for so long. He would stand before his love and bring her home.

Even after all the years of not hearing a word about Bella, he could not lose the pull she had over him. He could never have a lover who consumed him so fully and filled him so wholly as her.

In his excitement, Edward did not even notice he was pounding on Bella's apartment door, until a noise from behind startled him.

"What is all this ruckus out here!" An elderly man from across the hall entered the hallway. With grayed hair and an old flannel shirt and worn overalls his scowl was directed over at the troublemaker in front of him.

Edward turned to him in a panic, "Where is Bella?"

"You're looking for Bella, aye. Well son, she moved out today. Sad to see her and that little curly haired charmer go."

"She lived with someone?"

"Well, if you really knew her, you would know who she was living with. I take it you don't know much about Bella. Not enough to be banging on that damned doorm,"

"I know everything about Bella," Edward gritted his teeth at the insinuation of this old man.

"Really, well her roommates seem to be a mystery to you. That tells me you don't know much of anything about her."

"Cut the crap, where is Bella!"

"I take it your Edward?"

"How did you kno—" A quick fist met Edward's jaw.

"Still got it," the old man laughed to himself while rubbing his hand, "Let's just say that was a little message from Bella. Said you would probably be coming around here soon looking for her. Stupid boy, she told you she wanted nothing to do with you and you come stalking around here. Now that she moved out, I'll probably end up with a lousy, noisy punk ass living in there,"

Edward rubbed his jaw and was slightly stunned by the punch thrown at him by the aging man. He wanted to strike back but he was too intent on finding Bella.

"If she isn't here, where did she go?" Edward demanded.

"Like hell I'm going to tell you."

"Fine," Edward mumbled under his breath and turned toward the door. He assessed the door and was appalled by its cheap state. Throwing his weight into his shoulder he hit cheap piece of wood with all his strength.

The first strike made a small crack in the cheap plywood veneer, and Edward went in for a second hit.

"What are you doing?" The old man looked on horrified at the destruction Edward was causing.

The third hit on the door took it off its hinges. Edward moved past the busted frame and walked into the apartment.

"After all you've done, you are going to make the poor girl lose her security deposit!" The old man yelled after Edward.

Edward did not hear a word that was shouted at him. He walked slowly into the apartment and slowly moved down the short hallway to the bedrooms opening each door.

Every room was empty.

Even more striking was that there was a lingering scent through the space that was distinctly Bella's. One room was noticeably stronger, and he imagined it as her bedroom. The room was a small cramped space that he could barely imagine a bed fitting into.

The only sign that anyone had ever lived in the space was some scribbling on a wall in one of the other bedrooms. It looked like a child had drawn on the paint with crayons and that in the haste to leave no one had wiped down the walls. The scent in this room hinted at a mix of his Bella and something strangely familiar.

Edward paced the small apartment and found himself in the bathroom crouching on the toilet seat with his hands in his hair breathing erratically.

The small creeks and sounds of the empty apartment began to reverberate around Edward. He looked at the small bathroom vanity and could almost imagine Bella standing there after a shower, drying her long chestnut brown hair and carefully combing it back. She would move around the room for a few minutes before stubbing her toe on the corner of the cabinet. She would scowl before continuing on with her business.

The mental image Edward created quickly faded away, and he was left alone in the bathroom.

"Bella," Edward cried, "You can't be gone."


	11. Idiot Worshippers

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

**Happy Easter!  
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"_Idol of idiot-worshippers." ~Troilus and Cressida_

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**Chapter 11 – Idiot-Worshippers**

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It had been two weeks since Bella had fled her apartment. There was not much in there to begin with, but it was still a hassle to move it quickly. Charlie had been a saint, boxing the drawers up and helping to rush the sparse furniture into their rental truck. Years of living in one small apartment and only an hour and a half to move it all out.

Although he did not want to leave, Charlie had to fly back out to Forks. With such a small police department, extended leave was not available. He had told Bella his only concern was the inevitable run-in with the Cullen's. But he assured her it was nothing he could not handle. After a kiss on his daughter's cheek, a handshake for Leah, and a bear hug for Ellie, Charlie hopped into a taxi and drove off to the airport.

Leah had found a small apartment further out in the suburbs to sublet for a couple months. She told Bella that they would need at least that much time to look for a house and close on it, and even that was cutting it close.

Bella had been on the night shift for the last several weeks, consistently working 12 hours on, 12 hours off. The crazy schedule no longer had the same effect on her as when she was a rookie, now she just focused on the benefits of the 48 hour release every few days.

There was one thing she had put off over the last several weeks, and that was rescheduling her coffee date with Marc. In her haste to take care of James and move across town, she had forgotten to meet them at the coffee shop and received a concerned voice mail message on her cell phone.

"_Bella, I was just calling to check in on you…er…I hope your okay. Just worried since you didn't meet up with me this morning. Yeah…umm…if you changed your mind about meeting me, it's okay. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened…_"

Bella immediately called Marc back and apologized profusely for ditching him and quickly explained that there was a family emergency that had to be taken care off. She never mentioned exactly what the emergency was, but she did allude to safety concerns at her apartment. He never questioned her, but only asked if she wanted to reschedule their date. Bella quickly agreed and they settled on a new time.

When their newly arranged time approached, Bella planned on heading back to her temporary home and change out of her work clothes and settle into something comfortable. She had finished up another 12-hour shift and was nursing a banged up shoulder and swelling around her eye. As soon as she walked in the door, Leah had silently gone to the freezer and pulled out a bag of peas and tossed it at Bella.

"Why do we even keep peas in the house?" Bella said putting the bag to her head as she pulled off her jacket with the free arm, "Even Ellie won't eat the things."

"I buy them so when you come home looking like you had a few rounds in the boxing ring, there will be something to meld to your freaking face," Leah said before turning back to the morning newspaper and a piece of toast.

"Bitch."

"No-no," Leah shook her finger at Bella without looking up from the sports section, "No naughty words. Ellie's in the other room watching cartoons."

"Well, now I have to meet Marc looking like I was in a fistfight," Bella groaned as she joined Leah at the kitchen table.

"Were you in a fistfight?"

"I guess you could say that. Only it didn't involve just fists," Bella snorted as she swiped a piece of toast from Leah's plate.

Raising her eyebrow and looking up from her paper Leah pushed her on, "Do tell."

"I didn't bear the brunt of it. But let's just say, my partner was pinned to the ground by some guys butt cheeks in his face."

"Well, that couldn't have been pleasant."

"Yeah, and the perp wasn't wearing any pants," Bella snickered, "Or underwear."

Leah groaned. She honestly could not understand how Bella put up with half the crap she saw on a daily basis.

"On that note," Leah stood up to refill her coffee cup; "I was going to snatch Ellie while you go on _your_ _date_. Me and my little accomplice are going to look at a few houses."

"Are you sure you don't want me to cancel and come with?"

"Hell no Bella," Leah laughed, "Out of the two Swan girls, only one has any taste. And. It. Ain't. You."

Bella rolled her eyes and walked to the bedroom she was temporarily sharing with Ellie. She did want them to find a place soon and get settled in, but she was nervous about meeting Marc.

In all honesty, Bella was nervous about meeting any man. She had only gone out on a few dates since she had moved to Chicago, but she had not _been with_ any man since Edward.

Leah teased Bella relentlessly about her sex life, or lack thereof. While Leah was willing to spend the night at any number of Chicago's finest bachelor's homes, Bella was cautious about whom she let into her life—extremely cautious.

Setting aside her nerves, Bella threw on a soft blue shirt and threw on a grey cardigan. She pulled on a pair of dark jeans and worn converse. Looking at the cheap mirror leaning against the wall she shrugged and was all right with her mediocrity.

That was until Ellie wandered into the room and picked out a pair of flats for her mom after vetoing Bella's original shoe selection. Apparently her four-year-old daughter was not content with mediocrity.

_Just like her father_.

Bella shook the thought from her head. In the last two weeks she had been plagued with constant thoughts about Edward. Seeing him briefly was unsettling, knowing he was looking for her was downright frightening.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, Bella kissed Ellie goodbye with a promise of taking her to the park in the afternoon. She headed out to her old trusty Nissan and drove to the little coffee shop by Hyde Park that Leah had mentioned going to a few weeks back. It was close to where Marc lived, so it seemed like a relaxed place to meet up.

Bella parked near the little shop and walked in with a bit of trepidation. Marc said he would be wearing Packers cap and a leather jacket. He chuckled, saying so close to Soldier Field, there was a risk he might be taken into a dark alley and beaten for his team alliance. But if he survived to make it to the coffee shop she would know it was him. No one else would dare to wear such a blasphemous item in Bear country.

Bella chuckled when she entered the coffee shop. Sure enough, Marc was wearing the worn out Packers ball cap, and the other customers were giving his table a wide berth.

Marc grinned when Bella started walking his way. She was even more beautiful then he remembered. The morning light shining through the large windows was bouncing off her hair creating a halo effect.

_An angel_, he thought.

Bella approached the table and held out a hand, "Hi, you must be Marc."

"Thanks for meeting me here Bella," Marc stood and returned her handshake, "Could I order you something."

"Coffee, plain black please."

Marc cocked his eye, "Anything else?"

"Maybe a shot of espresso too. I had a long shift."

Marc just nodded and ran over to the counter to give the barista Bella's order. It only took a minute for him to return to the table with her drinks.

"Here you go," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," Bella threw back the espresso shot and held her eyes closed for a brief moment enjoying the jolt of caffeine that entered her body. It felt heavenly. "So Marc, now that I know who you are, you can take off the target on your head."

"Oh!" Marc pulled off his ball cap and put his hand through his hair, "Probably don't want to be seen with the traitor."

"Nah, I'm not from around here. Not to mention my dad would skin me alive if I became a Bears fan."

"Really, what's his team?"

"Seahawks if he talks with any of the locals. Packers if he is being honest."

"I think I already like your dad," Marc chuckled nervously and started tapping his fingers on the table.

Bella looked down at his anxious twitch and cocked an eyebrow, "Are you alright Marc?"

"Sure I am—" Marc stopped himself and took a deep breath, "Okay, honestly I'm a bit nervous."

"Nervous? _Really?_" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, to be honest I haven't been on a date in a while," Marc started playing with the napkin under his coffee cup.

_Well shit_, Bella thought, _aren't we the perfect jittery pair_? She took a sip from her coffee and came to a consensus.

Bella knew after the events of the last few weeks she was not ready to start a serious relationship. She was willing to start a friendship. If that lead to something more, so be it. But she was not going to shut herself out any longer.

"I haven't either," Bella smiled at Marc and started the conversation discussing common interests, keeping the topics light.

Bella had ordered another black coffee when Marc finally brought something up that had been interesting him for the last hour.

"Bella, how did you get that black eye?"

"Oh this," Bella said, suddenly self conscious about the mark, "I got it when I was on duty last night. My partner and I were going after a suspect in a gang rape case. He was highly intoxicated and got a good swing at me before I was able to detain him."

"Does that happen often?" Marc said with concern laced in his voice.

"I'm used to it," Bella noted the doubt in his face, "Honestly—I've always bruised so easily. You could tap my arm and it would probably start so swell up. "

"I don't know how you do it."

"Do what?"

"Risk your life, day after day. And for what? To come home with bruises and scars," Marc sat back in his chair, "I don't have your courage."

"Don't put me on a pedestal," Bella shook her head, "I'm not courageous." _Hell, I'm don't even know who I am anymore_, she thought.

"Why did you choose this as a career then?"

"My mom," Bella's voice gave a hint of finality to it. Marc wanted to pry out more information, her tone left him grasping for more. But he also felt for their first time meeting he could not afford to push too hard. He could read the connection between Bella and her mother was strong, but something happened, something pushed her into the SVU. The way Bella was tensing in her muscles and shifting uncomfortably in her seat alerted him to direct the conversation in a different direction.

"So can you tell me a little bit about your daughter?"

* * *

Leah was actually a little excited. This was a new emotion for her. Anger—she had perfected the scowling eyes. Impatient—her foot taps was second to none. Bitter—the taste rarely left her mouth.

But excited was rare for the queen of discontent.

When Leah and Bella had rushed from their little apartment, new housing was in order. Bella had always been adamant that even though Leah could shoulder more of the financial responsibility with her salary, she wanted to split everything fifty-fifty.

And that was why Leah had to suffer the last four years in a decrepit apartment in a less then appealing neighborhood. But this time she was in charge of the housing.

It took several nights to convince Bella, but finally Leah prevailed. Leah wanted to live in a nicer home and she finally won the argument by reminding Bella that said home would most likely be in a nicer neighborhood. Nicer neighborhood equaling better school district. Better school district resulting in better education for itty bitty Swan and the betterment of her daughter's future.

Ace in the whole as far as Leah was concerned. She sweetened the pot by letting Bella pay rent to her if she purchased the home. Bella finally backed down. And now Leah was on her way to view several homes in and around Chicago.

"Alrighty CopperTop, it looks like we are at the next house," Leah said turning around to look at Ellie sitting in her car seat, "So you really didn't like the last one?"

"It smelled gross," Ellie crinkled her nose. Leah could disagree with her there. As soon as they walked through the door a strong whiff of menthol and cat hairball accosted them. The realtor there mentioned that the owner was packing up and moving down to Florida for retirement. Leah bit her tongue and stopped herself from asking if the owner was not already dead and buried in the floorboards, because the place reeked like a decaying body.

"Well, your mom recommended this Realtor, and she said she would meet us here. Hopefully this place will be a little less—"

"Stinky!" Ellie finished. Leah was going to say, '_crappy,_' but stinky would do.

"Yeah—definitely that."

Walking around the car to help Ellie out of her seat, Leah looked up to see a petite woman dressed in a suite walking toward her.

"Are you Leah?" the woman asked.

"Yes. You must be—"

"Sulpicia Turi. But you can call me Picia," she announced and held out her hand.

Leah returned the handshake, "Bella said she worked with your husband. I am just hoping you can show me something better then the last three houses we looked at."

"They were bad!" a small voice from the backseat of the car interjected. Unrestrained by her seatbelt, Ellie jumped out onto the sidewalk and stood next to Leah, "And stinky."

Picia's eyes widened slightly and she could not help but stare at the child. She could tell the girl was young, preschool age or kindergarten at most. But what was most striking was the emerald green eyes and chestnut hair. The characteristics were so similar.

"I would have to agree with that assessment Ellie," Leah bent down and ruffled the little girl's hair. The child lifted her head and gave a crooked grin.

"What's 'ASS-ss-MNT'"

"Let's just say—you are right Ellie-pie," Leah chuckled while smiling back at the child.

_Oh my god_, Picia thought, _it couldn't be_. But she could not deny the resemblance. She was like a mini female replica of Edward Cullen. Picia shook her head and pushed away the absurd thought.

"_Sooo_, Bella didn't tell me much about you. Is this your daughter?" Picia asked trying hard to be subtle. Bella had only said that her friend was looking on purchasing a home, but gave her very few specifics.

Leah looked at Picia as if she was crazy, "You do realize that I am Native American and this child is about as pale white as you can genetically get, _right_?"

_That didn't answer my question_, Picia thought, _but she looks like she is going to snap my head off_.

"Why don't we get started with the tour? Follow me," Picia put on a smile and walked up a set of steps. She pulled out a key and opened the door. Just inside the entry she turned back to Leah, "Now this house is not up on the market right now. The owner was planning on waiting until spring to list it, but based on your specifications I thought it may be a prospect."

"The neighborhood is nice, what kind of school district are we in?"

"High graduation rates, above average performance on ACT and SAT scoring. They high school this house falls into even boasts the current national debate varsity switch-side championship team," Picia gave a warm smile, "One of the best districts in the greater Chicago area."

"That's good," Leah mumbled and started to look around at the furnishings.

"Come, let's take a look around."

Picia led them upstairs and showed her the master bedroom. Leah noticed from the hallway and the bedroom there were not many furnishings.

"Is someone living here right now?"

"Yes, the owner is staying here until the home sells. Single man, had a lot of renovations done to the space to modernize it."

Leah just nodded at her and looked inside the closets and around the room to assess the space.

"Aunt Leah, you have to see this!" an excited voice yelled from down the hall. Leah rushed out to see what Ellie had gotten into when she found herself in a charming bedroom space, "Look at this spot, I could read here."

Leah marveled at Ellie's little body sitting on the window seat in the room. A beautiful lighting fixture in the room cast a warm glow on the walls. She walked to the window and saw an old Oak tree twisting overhead, the branches bare now, but she imagined them full and green in the spring. _This would be a perfect room for Ellie_, Leah marveled.

"Do you like this space?" Leah asked in earnest, kneeling down in front of Ellie.

"It's perfect," Ellie almost whispered, her eyes moving around as if trying to memorize all the details.

"Would you like to continue the tour?" Picia suggested and ushered Leah and Ellie out of the bedroom.

Ellie was bouncing along singing to herself when Picia lead them through the kitchen and living room. But the pièce de résistance of the house was the library. Leah looked around and could imagine Bella's eyes popping out if she saw not only the original wood bookshelves from floor to ceiling, but how the current owner had filled them out with gorgeous classics.

So enamored by the stunning sight of the details in the woodwork, Leah did not notice Ellie become fixated on the grand piano in the center of the room.

The four year old saw the beautiful shiny black façade and was drawn to the bench in front of the exposed keys. She climbed onto the bench and sat in awe of instrument. Her small, stubbly fingers moved slowly to just feel the smooth white spruce. Ellie moved to feel the smoothness when her small force made the key move and the note sounded through the room.

In an instant Leah was at her side lifting Ellie from the bench, "Ellie, this is someone else's very expensive piano. We can't touch it, okay?"

Ellie simply nodded, her eyes watering slightly. In her four year old mind, she was not sure if she was sadder because her Aunt reprimanded her, or because she was denied another touch of the beautiful instrument.

"S—s—sorry," Ellie sniffled.

"It's okay CopperTop," Leah hugged her tight and smoothed her hair, "Maybe we can get a piano for our home too. Probably not as nice as this one, but something you could play on?"

Ellie just sniffled and nodded while clutching onto Leah.

Seeing that the moment was under control, Picia turned and started talking about some of the other facts about the home. She discussed the average utility costs and recent upgrades. Made sure to flaunt historic value of the home. She gave the perfect realtor sales pitch.

In the midst of Picia's speech, the front door opened and closed.

"Hello?" A voice came from the front hallway.

Picia walked out of the library and into the hall where a rather surprised Esme greeted her while Leah stayed put comforting Ellie.

"Umm…what are you doing here?" Esme asked.

"Hello, you must be—," Picia put her hand out where she was hesitantly met by Esme.

"Esme Cullen,"

"Oh, I am Picia Turi, Edward's realtor. You must be his mother?"

"Yes I am," Esme hesitated for a moment, "You have to excuse me, Edward never mentioned a realtor."

"Oh—I see. I suppose you should talk to him about that. But it probably doesn't hurt to let you know he hired me to sell his townhouse a few weeks ago. We are doing a soft opening right now. I am just bringing around a few potential buyers until the market opens up in the spring."

Esme looked at Picia with a fairly composed face, but inside she was reeling. Edward had not told her that he planned on selling his parent's townhouse. He had been adamant she would help in him the interior design of the space, but never once did he mention that it was to stage it for a sell.

The shock only compounded the anger Esme had been carrying around the last few weeks. She had barely strong an entire sentence together when she and her son was in the same room. And she would have flown back to Forks if her anger at Edward were not trumped by her disappointment in Carlisle from keeping secrets from her. Patient confidentiality be damned, Esme was an angry wife.

But this was certainly the last straw for Esme. The boy she had raised as her own son went behind her back and put her sister's home on the market. Edward did not even have the decency to tell her, in fact he had gone so far as to tell her he was _not_ going to sell the townhouse and he was going to fight to find Bella and make it their home. And now she was standing in the hallway as some unknown realtor paraded strangers through her son's house.

Esme was fuming. She was just about to start swearing at the realtor in front of her, when a little girl bounced into the hallway bringing her to a standstill.

Bronze hair. Crooked smile. Emerald eyes. _Edward's eyes_.

Esme was starring at a miniature Edward. Her mind was working hard to comprehend what was standing before her. The little girl, oblivious to Esme's gaze turned around and announced, "It's the bestest Aunt Leah."

A tall woman with russet colored skin filed out of the library after the girl, and although Esme could not place her she felt strikingly familiar. The woman addressed Picia.

"The house has certainly made an impression on Ellie. I think we might like to come back with her mom to take another visit. Could we set that up?"

Picia turned her attention to Leah and put on a smile, "Of course. When do you think would be best?"

"Well you know how crazy their schedules are, especially since your husband works with her," Leah thought for a moment, "I think she has another full day off on Friday."

Picia arranged a time for them to meet back at the house while Esme remained unnoticed at the end of the hall slipping back into the living room.

Picia led Leah and Ellie to the door before confirming their second tour of the house one last time. The child bounced down the steps toward the car while Leah bolted after her and only nodding in confirmation.

Turning back to the home Picia walked down the hall calling out, "Mrs. Cullen, are you still here?"

"Yes I am," Picia jumped in surprise when Esme's voice called from behind her, "Ms. Turi, who was that lady?"

Picia turned around and stuttered out, "Umm—Leah Clearwater."

"Clearwater," Esme mumbled under her breath in recognition of the name before speaking more loudly, "And whom is she bringing back for this second tour?"

"I'm not sure exactly," Picia cringed. That was one connection she knew; Bella Swan was Mrs. Cullen's ex-daughter-in-law.

"Is that so?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Well, whomever they are, I'll be sure to be here to greet them all properly on Friday then."

* * *

Edward had thrown himself into his new position at the University of Chicago hospital. He had already moved past the phase of being upset he had not chosen to go to Mayo like he wanted. In his mind, there was no longer any choice, there was only Chicago.

His caseload was building quickly, and he voluntarily signed up for extra shifts to occupy himself. The distractions were welcome, but no matter how hard he pushed himself to the point of exhaustion, _she _would come to mind.

The small things were what would trigger his memories. There was a small petite nurse on his floor with a slightly dingier brown hair then Bella's. Edward would catch glimpses of her turning corners with her back to him, and he would immediately start running after her before realizing his mistake.

In fact, Edward was seeing small apparitions of Bella just about everywhere. He could have sworn he saw her through the window of the coffee shop on his way into work this morning. But when he doubled back to enter the café, she was nowhere to be found.

A few nights before Edward had left the hospital just after midnight after being on call for 18 hours. He decided to run out and grab a sandwich before he headed back to the townhouse, and he could have sworn he saw Bella across the street running after a large man into a dark alley. He quickly went in the direction they disappeared too, but by the time he made it to the other side, they were already gone.

If he started seeing Bella's face in his toast, Edward was going to seek psychiatric treatment.

To make matters worse, Esme was not talking to him. Edward understood she was mad because he kept Bella's pregnancies a secret from her. He did not understand why she would continue to stay at the house and give him the silent treatment.

Edward had called his father in Washington to try and talk with him about the situation, but in the last week they had only played phone tag. It appeared both Cullen men were taking on odd shifts at their respective hospitals.

Now Edward was closing in at the end of his day and checking in on a patient whose surgery he assisted in earlier in the day. A heart valve repair on a seventeen year old, it was always a bit more daunting to work on someone so young. Edward looked over his charts and noticed his recovery was going well and jotted down a few notes to pass along to his next attending physician.

Walking down the hall to the locker room to change, Edward passed the nurses' station and noticed how the three ladies standing behind it stopped their conversation. They openly gawked at him, while all Edward could do was give a polite nod before dropping his head and continuing onward.

The stares had been a constant over the last couple weeks. Most times Edward just felt like a goldfish in an open glass bowl surrounded by hungry, feral cats. Just like the goldfish, Edward did his best to cower in the corner while everyone looked at him from all sides. They all starred, but rarely said anything to him.

Until today.

"Dr. Cullen, I presume?" Edward was just about to open the door to the on-call room when a woman's voice called from behind. He turned around to look at her and stood like a deer in headlights.

"Umm…_yes_.?"

"Whoa there boy, get a little authority in that voice. You sound like the hyenas they call nurses around here have already sunk their claws into you," the woman mused.

The woman was tall and all legs. Her golden blond hair was swept up into a clean bun, and her skin was smooth and perfect. The manner in which she stood with her hands on her hips and at a slight angle would rival any model found in a couture fashion shoot. She wore a lab coat with an ID badge that displayed her name, "Dr. Tanya Denali."

Edward knew his natural instinct should be to oogle the woman. She was dripping with sexuality, right down to her stethoscope that hung in a seductive manner across her chest. But he did not feel that immediate connection, that undeniable spark which he measured every relationship by.

"Wow, the nurses must have done a number on you if you're afraid to speak," she smirked.

"Sorry—_um_—it's nice to meet you?"

"Likewise," Tanya looked down at a phone that started vibrating from her pocket, "So Dr. Cullen, are you finishing up your shift right now?"

"Yes, I was just about to head on out."

Tanya typed on the phone for a moment before looking back up, "It's late, but you're coming out for a drink with me."

Edward was extremely tired, but when he replayed Dr. Denali's words back in his head he realized she did not ask him if he would like to join her. No, had she informed him he would be joining her.

"I am actually really tired and really need to rest—" Edward was trying to make an escape.

"You'll be fine," Tanya noticed his hesitation and said quietly, "Hey, you are new in town, I know you are taking extra shifts around here. I'm guessing you don't have a lot of friends yet, and the way you're mopping around I can tell you need to get something off your chest. Now throw your lab coat in the laundry bin and grab your wallet. First round is on you."

Edward just nodded in agreement before ducking in to the on-call room to grab his jacket. He really did not feel like ostracizing any of the staff members, because she was absolutely right. He had no one to talk to right now, and one beer did not seem like the end of the world.

Edward's passive-aggressive response is how twenty minutes later he found himself sitting on a barstool next to Tanya. Despite her rather aggressive behavior at the hospital, Edward found their discussion to be comfortable and permitted him to open up to someone outside his family.

It may have also helped that Edward was always considered a lightweight and already had three beers.

"That is just crazy," Tanya replied slamming her empty glass onto the bar, and turning to flag down the bartender.

"I know!" Edward threw his hands in the air, "Five fucking years, and she still refuses to talk to me."

"Bitch," Tanya muttered and took a sip from her refilled mug.

"And no matter how hard I try, I can't get her out of my head—_agh_!" Edward ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"Maybe I can help you with that," Tanya put a hand on Edward's shoulder and rubbed it leisurely. But Edward did not respond to her advances. His body was so intoxicated he could barely sit up on the stool under his own power, "I'll get us a cab."

Edward simply nodded and set his mug down on the table before taking Tanya's hand and following her out of the bar. She waved down a cab and pulled him in after her.

Tanya smiled and turned to the cab driver to give him her home address before looking back to Edward, "Let's go forget all about Bella."


	12. You Lie

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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"_You are a shallow cowardly hind, and you lie." ~ Henry IV_

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**Chapter 12 – You Lie**

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Edward awoke from a fitful sleep with a throbbing headache. The light filtering into the room was too much for his eyes and his head was slightly spinning. The fabric of the sheets he was laying on felt like satin, and that was certainly not something he would have on his bed. Everything felt off, this was not his room in the townhouse and he did not remember how he came to be in this strange bed. Edward looked down at his aching body and felt a sudden sense of panic.

Edward was naked.

Not only was he naked, a head of blond hair was flowing over his chest, and he could feel a warm breath blowing across his nipples. A smooth feminine leg was intertwined with his and lay dangerously close to his morning predicament.

Breathing deeply and trying to hold back the panic attack, Edward attempted to remember how he came in what he assumed was Tanya's bed and exactly what had transpired between the two. He came up short. The last thing he remembered was being pulled into a taxi, entering her condo and starting up a few more shots of some god-awful whiskey before everything blanked out.

Edward was conflicted between trying to quietly sneak out of Tanya's condo and waking her to find out what really happened. He quickly dismissed the idea of just creeping out figuring it would make it more awkward at work, not that the situation would not be awkward as it was but the damage needed to be mitigated.

Laying still Edward gathered his thoughts. Even though he did not know exactly what had gone on, his current state of undress immediately made him feel guilty. Rationally, he had no girlfriend or wife to make this an affair. But in his heart his marriage to Bella was not dissolved. He had not signed the papers; in his mind the court had destroyed it, not him. If there was one thing that would be his demise, Edward's faithfulness was his Achilles heel.

Forcing his eyes shut tight and wincing, Edward let out a tearless sob. He was so close to finding Bella, and here he lay naked with another woman wrapped around him. He felt dirty and unworthy.

A hand began to move lazily from around Edward's waist to further down his torso. At first Tanya's wanderings went unnoticed by Edward until he felt it take grip around his erect cock and give a distinct squeeze.

"Hmm," Tanya murmured while sitting up slightly to look into Edward's eyes but never taking her squeezing hand away, "Looks like this might be a good morning."

Edward could hardly deny that when Tanya sat up with the morning light showing threw her bed head ratted hair and voluptuous body that she was a sexy lady. She too was entirely naked, and her large breasts with erect nipples hovered over his chest and purposely edged closer to his lips.

Tanya smirked as Edward's eyes widened. She mistook his intake of breath and rapidly pounding chest as anticipation. While he lay momentarily paralyzed, Tanya purposely lowered herself onto his body and rubbed skin to skin as she slid down to the massive cock that remained in her hand.

Taking one look at it, she grinned inwardly. Without hesitation she took him into her mouth and began to move back up slightly scraping him with her teeth in her enthusiasm.

Edward felt Tanya's mouth take him and for a brief moment he remembered how Bella would take him in her mouth and how warm it was. How her eyes would glance up hesitantly at him to make sure he was enjoying it.

_Bella! _Edward's mind screamed before jerking away from Tanya.

"Hold on there big boy! I haven't finished with you yet," Tanya smirked and tried crawling back up to Edward.

"No, no, no—I can't do this!" Edward jumped from the bed frantically searching for his clothes.

Tanya sat up in the bed and looked on with a sense of disdain. She was utterly unsatisfied. A fine specimen of a man was pacing around her room naked and still fully erect, yet she was sitting alone on her bed and dripping wet. She stalked out unabashedly and stood in front of Edward while he tried to continue on his clothes search frenzy.

"What's the hurry?"

"The hurry," Edward said looking everywhere except Tanya, "Is that I cannot find my clothes. That shouldn't have happened right there, none of this should have happened."

Tanya was not a woman who begged a man to come to her bed. She was almost willing to make an exception with Edward though. His body was rock hard, and his lips were so pouty. She knew those lips could make her feel so good.

But her pride overrode her physical desire and with a sultry walk to the other side of her bed, she pulled out Edward's discarded clothes and handed them to him.

"Here, I'll leave you to change," she shoved them into his chest and stalked out of the room and to the kitchen. Putting on a pot of coffee and pulling out some bagels from her bread box, she went to sit at her dining table.

Edward barreled into the kitchen a few minutes later, now fully dressed but exceptionally disheveled he stood uncomfortably before Tanya.

"Would you like some coffee?" Tanya asked while pulling out a couple of mugs and pouring a cup.

"No, thank you," Edward replied and Tanya pushed one mug back before taking her seat again, "Umm—I would like to talk to you about last night."

"Alright then, go ahead," Tanya replied while pulling apart her bagel.

"Could—could I get you a robe or something? I'd feel more comfortable if you were, well, covered up while we talk."

"You're a fucking doctor Edward. You've seen naked people before. Just spit out what you want to ask."

Edward scrunched his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, "What exactly happened last night? I don't remember a thing after we started taking shots."

Tanya smiled and tenaciously leaned back into her chair. She laughed inwardly at Edward's distress as he refused to look at her, focusing his attention on potted plant in the corner.

"You honestly don't remember anything?"

Edward shook his head and started to pace, "No."

"You woke up naked in my bed, what do you think happened?" there was a slight hint of amusement in Tanya's voice.

"So we had—" Edward lifted to his eyes toward and quickly averted them when he remembered she was naked. Before he did he caught a glimpse of her rising from her seat and bending over to pick up a napkin that had fallen onto the floor.

"Let's just say that this morning was supposed to be a thank you for last night," Edward suddenly became aware of how close Tanya was to him and he suddenly felt very ill.

"I have to go," Edward ran out the front door barefoot leaving behind his misplaced shoes. Once he was outside his panic attack from before returned in full force. He crouched down and rolled himself into a ball by a small shrub while trying to control his breathing.

Even after Bella had left, Edward had never been with another woman. His heart was hers, and he would rather die than be with someone else. His self-imposed celibacy had made him joke target from his brother, but sex was not something that viewed as necessary to survive. To him sex was something that bound you to another person.

And despite the constant taunting from his brother, Edward knew he was bound to only one woman. But now his whole view of himself changed. No longer was he the pure man who loved Bella. Now he was tainted by another woman.

A few passerby's noticed Edward's breakdown in the bushes, but none stopped to see what was the matter. To an outsider he appeared unstable and ready to snap at any moment, they would not have been too far off the mark. It took over a half hour before he was even able to physically pull out his cell phone and call for a cab.

When the taxi pulled up to the curb, Edward entered shoeless and broken before muttering the address to his townhouse. He had nowhere else to go, but he prayed to God that Esme was out for the day and would not see him walk in with his shame. She would inevitably ask questions, and Edward was not willing to provide any answers.

Tanya watched from her window as Edward's taxi drove off. She witnessed his breakdown but felt little remorse. He had inadvertently hurt her pride, and she knew it was because of another woman, one he could not get over. After she signed the divorce papers with Vasilii, Tanya had vowed that no man would ever make her feel inferior and undesirable. Today Edward made her feel both, even if he had no idea he was doing so.

"Oh Edward," Tanya sneered through the sheer curtains as she retreated into the room still naked, still fuming, "I should have taken advantage of you while I could."

No, despite her desire to have her wicked ways with Edward, the evening before had been rather tame. The cab had dropped them off outside, Edward had tried to remain inside and give the driver his address. But Tanya pulled him out and up the steps to her building's entrance.

Tanya led Edward into her condo and they moved to the bar attached to her kitchen. Pulling out two glasses, Tanya dug out her most wicked whiskey and poured them each a shot. Together they slammed back another, and another.

All the while Edward mumbled on about finding "his Bella", even calling Tanya by her name several times. By her own accord, Tanya was no longer at her most coherent state, and directed a very sleepy Edward toward her bedroom.

Tanya remembered his eyes having a hard time staying focused on her as she undressed in front of him. Propping him up she took off his shirt, his pants, and finally his briefs.

_A brief man_, she had mussed, _holding together quite a nice package_.

Edward had started smiling before muttering over and over, "My beautiful."

Tanya took it as a challenge to wipe this little twit out of his memory and began to lick his chest and tug on his nipples with her teeth. His skin had tasted so good, and she wanted to dive deeper.

As she started to move into his territory a soft snore echoed around her room, and Tanya punched her fist into her pillow with frustration. Edward was fast asleep and far from the attentive lover she had envisioned for the night.

Lying next to Edward, Tanya smiled slightly as he pulled her into his side. She thought to herself that there might be hope after all. Nestling into his chest she waited for him to sober up and for them to finally enjoy each other.

What Tanya did not know after she fell asleep in Edward's arms was that he started to mutter Bella's name, and the smile on his face all night was his dream of holding her body against his.

Tanya Denali had told a lie to Edward Cullen that morning. She wanted to be malicious, nothing had happened between them, but he did not know that. He had hurt her, and if he thought having sex with her would be that atrocious, she would return the favor. However, even the spite she had given out still left her utterly unsatisfied.

Finding her purse thrown by the front entrance, Tanya found her cell phone and dialed a familiar number. As the phone rang she laid out on the couch in her living room and perked up when she heard the familiar, "_Hello._"

"Irina darling, so glad you picked up."

"_Tanya, what's up?_"

"Just wondering if you and Laurent were available this morning. I suddenly have some free time on my hands, and we haven't gotten together in a while."

"_Hmm_," a knowing sound came over the line, "_I think we could make it over for a visit._"

"Let yourselves in, I will be on the couch, _waiting_."

Tanya finished the call and her mood brightened as the day seemed to be looking up. If she could not have Edward, then she might as well double her pleasure with Laurent _and _Irina.

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The last several days at work had been beyond exhausting for Bella. She had played off the pain of her shoulder to Leah, but the truth was it was still aching. The suspect Bella and her partner were tracking down had returned to his apartment. Bella knocked on the door and identified herself as an officer, the suspect bolted past them and barreled down the hall to the stairwell. She pursued him on foot, and although he was able to make headway on the stairs, she gained ground as they made it to street level.

Bella's partner took the rear entrance to try and head him off, so when she chased him down the street and into a narrow alley, the sight before her was slightly unexpected. The suspect had ran straight into her partner and being a rather sizable man, had pinned him to the ground, took has pants off and began to fart into his face.

The scene might have been somewhat humorous, except Bella could tell her partner was being suffocated and she quickly drew her weapon and ordered the suspect off of him. She was almost certain that the suspect was high on several drugs at the time, and his erratic behavior could not be reasonably talked down from. When he would not comply, she quickly tried to assess the situation.

Bella saw her partner struggling on the ground and decided to go with the quickest action, ramming her body into the suspect. He was strong and pushed back, sending Bella across the narrow alley into a brick wall. She felt her shoulder pop out, and that only made her angrier.

"You really shouldn't have done that," she muttered before coming in with a knee to his face. As he rolled off her partner, the suspect took a wild swing making contact with Bella's face before she took one swing and connected with his temple knocking him cold.

Her partner sat up from the ground wheezing. "Shit," he coughed, "For a tiny thing you certainly can knock a guy out."

"Whatever," Bella grimaced as the pain kicked in after the adrenalin started to fade, "For a man you certainly know how to take it in the face."

Bella's shoulder was throbbing, and her partner helped put it back into its socket.

"Thanks Volt," she muttered while pulling a bottle of Advil from their first aid kit in the cruiser.

"Whatever Swan, it was for my benefit. If you would have stopped at the hospital they would have given you desk duty for a week and I would have had to put up with some guppy."

"Sure, sure you big softy. Let's get this idiot to the station for questioning."

Even days after the incident the shoulder was giving her some pain. She thought about going to the hospital on her own time, but she did not want to risk it getting back to her boss. Desk time was her version of purgatory. Endlessly filling out forms, documenting the minute details of investigations, all the back burner pieces of investigation—most of it done to appease bureaucrats in Bella's opinion.

Bella was more comfortable out in the streets, and knew she was more valuable there. Her unassuming stature was a comfort to victims who felt less intimidated by her, her natural talent at detaining suspects made her an asset to her partner.

Volt was not joking when he said he did not want a 'guppy' following him around. Officers inexperienced with SVU cases often caused more harm than good and often times missed the clues that would lead to a perpetrator. A good SVU officer had to be able to read people, it was something Bella was exceptionally talented at. Trust in your partner was even more important, and he implicitly trusted Bella.

Bella was exhausted, beyond self medicating; she had put in extra hours for a case her unit was working on. The victim was a rather high profile socialite who was assaulted after a few debaucheries on the town. Piecing together the night was becoming extremely difficult since most of the friends she was out with were so inebriated they left her behind at some point in the evening.

The case had garnered some media interest due to its high profile victim and that put added pressure onto Bella to find out who was behind the attack. Her boss had dragged her and Volt into his office the day before and explained how the District Attorney was pressuring him to name a suspect. To this point they were stuck at several dead end leads.

Bella rubbed her shoulder and threw back an aspirin. Despite all the pressure at work, she promised Leah that she would make time to tour "the house". She admitted it sounded like a dream, almost too good to be true. Ellie had been chatting non-stop the last several days of her perfect bedroom, and the pretty room with the piano she could not touch.

All Bella really wanted to do was lay down in bed and take a nap, but even Leah was acting like a giddy schoolgirl about the house. Bella even caught Leah dancing around the living room as she read the house factsheet. Leah never danced; she was more of a scowling woman.

Bella took a deep breath and stepped into the kitchen where Leah was already making breakfast.

"Morning mama!"

"Good morning Ellie-girl. What is your Aunt Leah making?"

"French toast and oaties."

"Smells good," Bella pulled out a mug and poured some coffee before sitting back at the table.

Leah placed a small platter filled with French toast on the table, "I talked with the realtor and she confirmed our appointment this morning."

"Right then. Well, we better finish up so we are not late to see this grand house you two keep on talking about," Bella started in on her plate and noticed Ellie stuffing her food into her mouth faster then her tiny baby teeth could chew, "Why are you eating like that sweetie?"

"Bu sa-we beed to eat quwick," Ellie managed to spit out between bites.

"Please don't stuff your mouth."

Ellie swallowed her mouthful, "Sorry mama. I want to show you the new house."

"I know you're excited, but let's try to eat like a normal person, okay?"

"Okay," Ellie replied, but continued to bounce up and down in her seat with a bright glint in her eyes. She was more like her Aunt Alice then Bella liked to admit.

The girls finished breakfast and an hour later Leah pulled in front of the house Bella had heard about all week. All of the discussion had not done it justice. Even just seeing the brick façade and the neighborhood it resided in made Bella feel instantly relieved, almost as if she was home. It had been a long time since she felt this way.

"Wow, this is a lot larger then I imagined," Bella muttered.

"Just wait until you see the inside," Leah grinned as she opened the door and moved around to help Ellie out of her car seat.

Once Ellie was free of her confines, she grabbed her mother's hand and bounded up the stairs. Bella was about to knock when she heard a voice from behind her.

"_Hmm_, good morning Bella, good to see you again Leah, Ellie," Picia walked toward the townhouse with a slightly forced smile on her face. Call it intuition, but she knew something was going on today other than just showing a house, "The owner will not be here today, but his mother may be around to answer any additional questions you have about the property."

"Well, these two have been going on about this place, so I am anxious to see the inside," Bella looked down to see a very excited child jump up and down while her wild hair bounced around aimlessly.

"I want to show you my room first," Ellie declared. For her there was no longer any question this would be her home. She was already mentally moving in her toys and books, "The window is the best part. There's a seat and you can sit on it. We can read there—"

Ellie jabbered on about her perfect room as Picia unlocked the door. Without hesitation Ellie pulled Bella toward the stairs.

"Sorry, she's just really excited," Bella yelled back toward Picia and Leah before ascending the stairs with her daughter.

"No, no, it's alright. It might be better if she were to show you and we can take our time looking at the rest of the house," Picia yelled after the disappearing Swans before turning to Leah, "Let's give them a minute to look things over."

"This is it mama!" Ellie pulled her down the second floor hallway and into the vacant room.

Bella gasped, the room was right out of her dreams. The light pouring in was soft and natural illuminating the walls without being harsh. The window seat was indeed charming and exactly where she imagined sitting down with her daughter after a long day at work and spending some quiet time with her. The hardwood floors added character, and the delicate molding around the room spoke of another time, as if this room was destined to contain a bubbly child.

The rest of the house did not matter to Bella; it was perfect for this room alone.

Downstairs Picia and Leah were engaged in conversation. Picia was commiserating about how hard her husband and Bella had been working lately. The extra hours were wearing on him as well. She retold the story of the alley, and was amazed at Leah's reaction.

"Bella didn't say she dislocated her shoulder," Leah was becoming agitated. She knew her friend downplayed a lot of things at her job, but it did not make hearing about it less upsetting.

"I'm sure she is alright, my husband wouldn't let her keep working if he thought something was wrong. He is very protective of her," As the words came out of Picia's mouth she inadvertently grimaced. Her brain was screaming that something was going to go wrong today and she should get Bella out of here as quickly as possible. If her husband knew of the possible ambush his partner was facing, he would be furious.

_It's nonsense_, Picia thought to herself before turning back to Leah, _nothing is going to go wrong. _

"Let's go upstairs and see how they are doing," Picia ushered Leah to the staircase and the two went in search of the Swan girls.

As soon as they walked out of the front foyer, Esme moved from her hiding space in the kitchen. From the hallway mirror she caught a glimpse of them, _all of them_. The child, _Ellie_, she thought softly had so many of Edward's features. She also looked like the spitting image of her grandmother, Elizabeth.

And holding Ellie's hand was Bella. There was no doubt in Esme's mind who the father of that child was. It took all of her willpower to not march into the foyer and confront them all. But Esme was holding onto hope that Edward would return her messages and return to the house immediately. She did not want to risk a confrontation and run them from the house before her son could see the child before his very eyes.

It was no secret the last few weeks had been a strain for Esme and Edward. Esme loved him like her own child, but for him to hold the secrets of his children from her were devastating. She held onto the anger because it was easier then dealing with the pain of knowing she would never meet her grandbabies.

Now Esme held a new anger. Bella had told her that the second child was aborted. The idea of losing not one, but two of her children had made Esme so sympathetic toward the woman she had thought of as her own child. But now seeing the child bouncing through the house she knew Bella lied, and now she had proof.

What Esme could not comprehend is how Bella could have kept the truth from everyone. Why did she hide the child away?

The front door opened breaking Esme from her thoughts. A wide-eyed and barefoot Edward walked through to see his mother stare back at him. Her instincts immediately kicked in and she began assessing his physical appearance for anything out of place.

"Edward, are you alright?"

Putting his hands in his pocket and not looking Esme in the eyes, Edward mumbled, "I'm not feeling well."

"Come here sweetie," Esme abandoned all of her anger and immediately swooped Edward into a hug before pulling him toward the living room. She began to panic thinking of the ladies upstairs, but knew she had to take care of her son first, "Sit down. I'll get you a glass of water."

Edward flopped back into the couch and cringed for a moment. His disappointment in himself was still making his body feel ill, and the brief flashes of Tanya in his mind made him begin to tremble. It was then that he heard a voice upstairs.

"And this would be the master bedroom. Let me show you the gorgeously remodeled bathroom."

_Shit_, Edward thought, _I forgot Picia was showing the house this morning_.

Edward's immediate reaction was that he needed to get out of the house immediately, he was not ready to face his mother, and he certainly was not ready to put up with the charade of showing the townhouse he had no intention of selling. If only he could find a pair of shoes, he would head back out.

But Esme headed him off at the doorway, "Edward, you're a mess! What happened to you?"

"Not now Mom," he muttered trying to get past her. For such a small woman, she had surprising strength. She pushed against his chest forcing him back into the living room.

Although Esme had orchestrated for everyone to be in the house at this moment, she was truthfully unaware of how the scene would play out. She knew one thing for certain, there was no way she was allowing Edward to leave.

"Edward, there is something I have to tell you."

"We can talk about it later. I got to get out of here," Edward made to make another escape. The voices from upstairs were getting louder as Picia ushered the women into the hallway and mentioned about checking out the beautiful galley kitchen downstairs.

Esme put out her hand on Edward's chest as he tried to walk by and said the one name that could stop him dead in his tracks,

"Bella."

Edward's head snapped back at her, and a series of emotions crossed his face; excitement and hope, followed by worry and fear. Esme could not understand why he looked so pained; this is what her son had hoped for. She could not imagine what his reaction would be to little Ellie, but the fear in his eyes was too much for him.

Crumpling to the ground Esme watched in horror as Edward began hyperventilating and sobbing. She had no way of knowing the torment that her adoptive son felt about his supposed actions with Tanya, and how pained his heart had become.

The voices on the stairway became louder until they reached the landing where a very curious little girl bounced out and asked a simple question to her mother when she saw the strange crumpled man on the floor sobbing hysterically.

"Who is that crying Mama?"

To which the now weeping man lifted his head and gasped. Starring back at him was a set of emerald eyes.

_His emerald eyes_.


	13. Wrathful Dove

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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"_Thou wilt be as valiant as the wrathful dove, or most magnanimous mouse." ~Henry IV_

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**Chapter 13 – Wrathful Dove**

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A small sprite of girl took a step closer to Edward. She was captivating to him, and he immediately felt protective toward her. Working with children at the hospital, he knew she was not more then five years old. But it was her delicate features that immediately drew Edward in.

The small child had Bella's heart shaped face, her pouty lips and small frame. It was her bronze hair and emerald eyes that made Edward see himself even more clearly.

Edward was in such a daze that he did not even realize he began moving toward the girl with an outstretched arm. He needed to touch her, to feel that she was real.

Bella saw his reach and broke out of her shock to grab Ellie's arm and push her toward Leah.

"Take her to the car, I will find my own way home," Bella whispered and turned to position her body between Edward and the doorway. She turned toward Picia and glared at her with malice, "Call your husband, _now_."

Picia was in shock at the change in Bella's demeanor. Moments before they had been having a light hearted discussion on possible colors for the rooms, and the next she turned into a ferocious animal. Her husband had always said his partner was someone to be reckoned with during an investigation, but Picia had never seen her with her claws out and ready to attack. She quickly retreated to the kitchen and pulled out her cell phone.

Edward was still have crouched on the floor in a state of shock. As soon as Leah began leading the child out the door he came to his senses. Standing quickly he made his way to stop the two from leaving before Bella pushed her petite frame against him and pinned him easily against the wall.

Esme's eyes widened and a gasp escaped her mouth. In her mind she still saw a weak Bella, one who was so meek and kind. Many times when she was still in high school Edward would come looking in a panic for Carlisle because Bella had tripped over her own feet and needed stitches. On their wedding day, Bella had worn the most fine ivory lace dress, and her small frame looked like a piece of delicate porcelain.

The Bella standing before her now, effectively immobilizing her six-foot-two, two hundred and fifteen pound son, was nothing of the delicate girl she remembered. Bella's mouth was drawn up into a grimace and her brow was furled. The only note of her frailty was the water in her eyes that threatened to rain down any moment.

"Bella, please. Let Edward go," Esme pleaded to her former daughter-in-law.

Bella responded by grabbing Edward's wrists and effectively pushing him toward the living room and away from the door.

As soon as the distraction of the child disappeared behind the door, Edward turned toward Bella. It felt as if there was nothing else in the room. She was touching him, albeit with a great deal of force. But all he could feel was her warm hands encircling his wrists. As long as he could remember she always had a pull on him. Instinctively he moved to pull her closer and gazed at the lush bottom lip he longed to have on his lips.

_Mine_.

The sentiment was innate, something Edward could not unlearn. His entire body was drawn to Bella and its only mission was to protect. For Bella's part her body ached a different way. It wanted to submit to Edward and fold into his arms. But something had happened to her that conflicted with this strong pull, and all thirty –five pounds of it just walked out of the door.

She was not alone. Edward still felt his need to look after Bella, but now he also had a distinct pull to the mysterious child who had just walked out the door.

"Bella love, who –_who is that_?"

Bella still had her ex-husband in a grip, and his acknowledgement of Ellie brought her focus to keeping Edward at bay until she saw her ragged yellow Nissan jet down the street. She let out a breath she was holding in.

"Bella," Esme walked forward, "Please let Edward go. Tell us who the child is."

Quietly dropping her grip, Bella stepped back and tried to remain calm. Esme was fuming inside, because it was blatantly obvious to her who the child was. Even more obvious to her was who the parents were. She bit her tongue until she felt the taste of iron swirl in her mouth. Yelling would get her nowhere and she wanted Bella to be the one to tell Edward the truth.

"She—she has my eyes," it was as if Edward was coming out of a Bella induced spell. After she stepped back from him he was finally able to look past the fact the love of his life was finally standing in front of him. Edward could see the image of the young girl in his mind. He stepped forward quickly decimating the distance to grab Bella by the arms, "Who is she?"

After taking two calming breaths, Bella lifted her head and looked Edward in the eyes before whispering, "She is my daughter."

It did not go unnoticed by Esme that Bella has said "_my_ daughter" in place of "_our_ daughter". Even being confronted here in her son's house she could not admit that Edward was the father. Her anger surfaced as she stepped up and spit the words into a stunned Bella's face,

"She has_ Edward's eyes_."

"Yes," Bella muttered.

"Who is her father, Bella?" The distain on Esme's tongue rolled off in waves. The cat and mouse game was over as far as she was concerned.

Edward had stood in shock the moment he heard Bella admit she had a daughter. His Bella had a child; a little girl who looked an awful lot like how he envisioned their child would have looked.

"Edward is the father," Bella whispered.

"But how? We went to the clinic—" Edward stammered. The news was too much for him, he gritted through his teeth, "You had the abortion!"

"I couldn't do it," Bella backed out of Edward's slackened grip. Gripping her hair with frustration she spun around, "I couldn't kill my little nudger!"

There was complete silence between the three. Bella was shaking close to tears and Edward stood stunned.

Growing up he had always envisioned the perfect family. Even as a young teen he saw Bella as his wife, a beautiful Victorian home with a large yard, and several brown hair-emerald eyed children running barefoot across the lawn. He had wanted the Americana lifestyle down to the damn white picket fence. The moment Bella became ill he altered his fantasy slightly. It still featured the lovely home, but he accepted that any children on the front lawn might not be a biological replica of him and his wife.

Edward had accepted the change as long as Bella was alive and healthy at his side.

And now here she stood, alive and healthy, if not slightly curvier then the last time he had seen her. He was standing in his beautiful Victorian townhouse, albeit without the white picket fence. A small brown hair-emerald eyed replica of them had just walked out the front door, and she was his daughter. His whole view of reality over the past four years suddenly shifted, and it became too much to take in. So many questions flashed through his mind and he could hardly articulate a single one. Finally he settled on the easiest.

"What is her name?"

"Elizabeth Marie. Ellie for short."

"Elizabeth…" Edward whispered the name with reverence, "You named her after my mom?"

"Yes," Bella whispered. She remembered days after the birth when she was still in recovery being asked by one of the nurses if she had settled on a name. Having already acknowledged that she had taken away Edward's last name from his daughter, Bella wanted to give her baby some connection to her father. _Elizabeth_, it fit her little chubby cheeks and the wild peach fuzz tuff of hair on her head.

Esme had shifted quietly out into the foyer when she heard her granddaughter's name. She lifted her eyes upward and sighed.

_You have been watching over her all along haven't you?_

Esme stood in amazement, because the events that brought them to the last few weeks could be nothing short of divine intervention. Yet the anger in her heart was still overpowering.

_Then why the hell did you take so long to bring his daughter back to him!_

The ornate front door opened and tall spindly man walked through unannounced breaking Esme's concentration. His hair was thin, but long twisted back into a slick ponytail. His eyes were dark and a bit empty. But it was his voice that made Esme slightly unnerved.

"Picia, Bella? Are you here? Are you alright?" The man yelled over Esme, ignoring her presence.

Picia made her way out of the kitchen where she had been hiding and began walking toward the man, "I am alright, love. Bella is in here," she pointed at the living room.

Volt headed into the room directing his attention to Picia momentarily, "You can go now. It might be a while before I'm home." Picia nodded and quickly made her way to the door without another word.

"Excuse me," Esme stuck out her arm in an attempt to stop the man, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

He ignored her and assessed the situation in front of him. His partner was such a strong woman, taking perps of the streets on a regular basis. Being hit by abusive husbands resisting arrest, spit on by victims who did not want her help. Her face never showed a sign of weakness in all the times he worked the streets with her, but here Bella was standing with tears falling down her face, while a man he had never met before stood shaking as one fist rubbed the bridge of his nose while the other remained clenched at his side.

"Let's go Swan," Volt said, drawing Edward's attention.

"Who the hell are you?" Edward spouted and began stalking in the direction of this man he had never met.

"Hold on right there, I'm not going to do anything to you!" Volt threw his hands up in the air, "Bells, go to my car, I'll be there in a minute."

Edward looked at the man with fire in his eyes before shoving his hands into Volt's chest, "There is no fucking way you are taking Bella away."

"Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I really suggest the easy way because I don't want to make Swan angry when I flip your ass onto this floor," Volt stood defiantly before turning and smirking, "Unless you would like to see me flip his ass sweetheart. If that makes you happy I'm all for it."

"I need to get away," Bella began sobbing as she threw herself into Volt's arms and the tears streamed out.

Edward saw red. His life was in the arms of another man. A man who had called her "sweetheart".

_Who the hell is this guy?_ Edward fumed to himself.

"Let her go," Edward glared.

"Buddy, you need to tone down that attitude, you're upsetting Bells," Volt replied.

"I said," Edward stalked toward him, "Let. Her. Go."

"Bells, sweetie, can you go out to my car. I will be there in a minute," Volt turned to release her toward the door.

No sooner had Volt turned to face Edward then he felt a stinging sensation to his jaw and a second quickly to his abdomen sending him flying back into a large decorative plant stand. As the shards of ceramic scattered across the floor, Volt muttered a quick, "Fuck" under his breath before using his leg to trip an approaching Edward.

Edward fell forward, but managed to grab onto Volt's arm and slam into him during the fall. Rolling quickly to the side, Volt jumped to his feet and stood back into the hallway noticing a stunned Esme clutching onto the doorframe.

"Ma'am, you may want to stand back. I have a feeling this fella isn't done yet—"

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth then Edward came barreling through the doorway to tackle Volt. Unfortunately, his maneuver was anticipated and Volt opened his hands and with his fingers slightly cupped and the thumb opened by itself, used the upward momentum to push his thumbs into Edward's eyes. Using the momentary distraction, Volt twisted his body around and slammed Edward's chest into the wall, knocking down a painting and pulling out a bit of plaster.

Pulling Edward's arms behind him, Volt grabbed a pair of cuffs from the inside of his leather jacket.

"You are under arrest for assaulting a police officer," Volt managed to shove Edward a little more roughly into the wall. He jaw hurt and that made him more ticked off, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law…"

"What the hell are you doing?" Edward struggled against Volt's hold

"If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you."

"Fuck you. Let me go," Edward spit out.

"Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you?"

"I want to see Bella, you bastard," Edward yelled.

"Right now, all you are going to see is the inside of a jail cell. Let's go pretty boy," Volt used his deceptive strength and pushed Edward toward the door and out to his car.

Bella was sitting in the front seat of her partner's car when she saw Edward being dragged out of the townhouse in cuffs. She jumped out quickly with panic in her eyes.

"What are you doing to Edward?"

"He assaulted me, I'm taking him in."

"Volt, please. This isn't necessary!" Bella protested.

"On the contrary Swan, he is acting rather brashly right now. I think it would be in everyone's best interest if he takes some time to consider his actions."

Volt opened the door and roughly pushed Edward into the backseat.

"Bella!" Esme came running down the stairs of the townhouse toward the car, "You have to stop this."

Bella stood on the sidewalk stunned at the revelation of everything that had occurred in the last half hour. Her body was in shock, and her thoughts were no longer coherent. Shaking her head she reached in the glove compartment and pulled out a card.

"He's bringing Edward to the station, here is the address. You might want to call a lawyer," Bella cringed at her words while looking at a very shocked Esme, "I will try to talk him out of pressing charges."

"Bella, how do you—" Esme started to speak.

"I have to go," Bella turned and ducked into the car while keeping her focus on the street ahead and not at the confused face of her former mother-in-law.

Volt jumped into the driver seat and pulled the car into the street.

"So Bella, you never told me I have a daughter. Anything else you want to tell me," Edward's voice had a hard edge as he struggled against the cuffs around his wrists.

"Quiet up back there," Volt yelled while keeping his eyes to the road.

"No, I think I have a right to some answers. You seem pretty chummy with this creep, are you fucking him? Is he playing daddy to my daughter?" The malice in Edward's voice leapt out and stung Bella's heart.

"Edward, please—It's not like that!"

"Well, he sure as hell seemed eager to jump in there and help you out. What, a doctor not enough for you, are you more turned on by fucking police officers?"

"Shut up or I'll make sure your cell mates like pretty boys," Volt quipped before turning on the sterio t o his car and drowning out any potential conversation.

Bella held back her tears. She knew in her heart that if Edward ever found out about his daughter he would be mad at her. She always prayed that if that day ever came that she would be able to direct his anger at her and not Ellie. Bella could take his anger, but she never wanted him to know how close his fears really had been.

Bella would never prove how right Edward almost was.

* * *

Leah walked out of Bella's bedroom where she just put Ellie down for a nap. She was trying to decide if she should call Charlie or Jacob to let them know what was happening or if she should wait for Bella.

_I will give her another half hour and then I'm calling in reinforcements_, Leah thought while throwing herself on the couch.

She could not understand how out of all the rotten luck in the world she had to fall in love with the house that Edward freaking Cullen owned. Then drag not only Bella, _but also Ellie_, to go take a look at it.

"Fuck it all," Leah muttered. She glanced over at the boxes that were not even unpacked and noticed the one that had "albums" written on the side partially opened.

Sliding off of the sofa, and scooting across the floor Leah reached the box and rubbed her hands tentatively across the top before pulling back the flaps. Neither she nor Bella were very sentimental women, but they did take care to record the little details of Ellie's life.

Bella even tried to scrapbook but when she glued her fingers together the idea was quickly abandoned. Instead, the two would take photos and other mementos and simply tape them into the album and jot a note down. Soon one album grew to two, and two became three.

It was the first album they started that Leah pulled from the box and held cautiously in her hands. Opening it up the front page held an envelope that contained a letter Bella wrote to Ellie while she was still pregnant. The letter had never been opened, and hopefully would remain that way. Leah remembered the day Bella handed it to her with instructions. It was two weeks before the final divorce proceedings and Bella was starting to look a little pale.

"_Bells, are you feeling okay?"_

"_No Leah, not really," Leah's eyes widened. Bella was one of the most selfless people she knew, and if she was admitting how bad she felt something must truly be wrong._

"_Do I need to take you to the hospital?"_

"_No, not yet," Bella sighed and carefully lowered herself into a chair. She pulled something out from the side table and handed it to Leah._

"_What's this?"_

"_I want you to be my power of attorney, Leah."_

"_Okay—" Leah balked for a moment, "What is bringing this on?"_

"_If something goes wrong, I know you will follow my wishes. No matter what happens, I want the baby to come first."_

"_Of course we are going to take care of the baby Bella, that's why we are doing all of this."_

"_No Leah, I mean if it comes down to saving me or my little nudger—you save the child. Do whatever you have to make sure my baby lives."_

_Leah simply nodded, "Why now?"_

"_If I'm being honest, I feel like crap. I know that it is only going to get worse. If Edward drags this divorce out—" Bella squeezed her eyes shut tightly, "If he is in the position to make that decision he is going to chose me over the baby."_

"_What's that?" Leah pointed to the envelope in Bella's hands._

"_If something ever happens to me, could you please make sure my little nudger gets this? I want her to know that no matter what she was always loved."_

"_Well, we are not going to need that because you are going to be just fine," Leah smiled and looked down at Bella's tiny baby bump. Even though she was barely showing she knew they were going to have to cover it up for the proceedings. They could not take any risks._

"_Just—please put it somewhere safe."_

"_Of course Bella, I will hold onto it," Leah picked up the envelope and saw Bella's scratchy writing, 'Baby Swan', "So you still think it's going to be a little girl?"_

"_Yeah," the smile on Bella's face was glowing, "A baby girl just feels right."_

Leah flipped the page of the album. There were no tummy shots of Bella in there; she was much to self conscious to do anything like that. Instead the next set of photos did not come until several days after Ellie's birth.

Although there was a gap in photographic evidence, Bella did manage to put in some of the medical bills. At first she joked it was to show how darn expensive a baby can be. But in reality Leah knew it was because it reminded Bella of how close she had come to losing not only Ellie, but her life as well.

Leah pulled out the first of the bills and cringed. It was a horrible day for Bella to begin with, and it soon turned much worse.

_A crash from the bathroom alerted Leah that something was wrong. They had been staying at Billy Black's home the few days they were in Forks, figuring that Edward was less likely to look for them there then at Charlie's. Billy was out for a couple hours, but Jacob took the morning off to be around for Bella._

"_Bells! Are you okay in there!" Leah pushed open the door to find a very pale Bella sprawled on the floor. Her skin was pale and it looked like she hit her head on the side of the tub. A small gash was forming and blood was slowly trickling down._

_Instead of answering, Bella just moaned and began breathing erratically._

"_Jacob, come quick!" Leah yelled and grabbed a hand towel to stop the bleeding._

_Jacob rushed into the bathroom, and his large size dominated the small space. Sweeping Bella into his arms he led her out into the living room and ran to grab a first aid kit from under the kitchen sink._

"_It's okay guys, it just stunned me," Bella slurred from the couch._

"_No, its not okay," Jacob rushed to her side and started cleaning the cut, "What happened Bells?"_

"_I—I just blanked out for a moment. Felt a little light headed and next thing you know it's the typical Bella clumsiness."_

"_I don't think you are well enough to handle today," Leah looked on with concern._

_Bella threw out her hand and caught Leah's wrist, "It doesn't matter if I am ready, and it's going to happen."_

"_At the first sign of anything going wrong, I am pulling you out of there."_

_Bella nodded and allowed Leah to lead her back to bathroom where Leah helped her get ready for the arbitration meeting. _

_As Leah pulled her rental car up to the brick office building, she stole a glance at Bella. What little color she had this morning had entirely faded away, and there was a noticeable darkening of her eyes. She knew this meeting had to be quick or Bella's ill health would quickly be exposed. _

_Supporting Bella's weight, Leah moved her through the hallways and was directed to a small conference room. Immediately upon stepping in Edward's eyes were drawn to the doorway where Bella gingerly walked in. It was as if he instinctively was drawn to his wife's presence and knew she was in turmoil. _

"_Bella, what's wrong? Bella, are you okay?" Leah knew his observation was not far off the mark, but she had to drawn him away from asking any questions. Bella was a horrid liar, and for them to make it out of the room unscathed, Leah knew she had to deflect his attention._

"_Please direct your questions through me Mr. Cullen."_

"_Talk to me Bella!" _

_Despite Leah's calm demeanor, she began to panic as Edward started to move around the table. Desperate to keep him away Leah stood used her most authoritative voice, "If you cannot handle yourself, I will ask the judge to be present and remove my client from the room."_

_Bella heard the shouts as muffles in her head. Her body immediately reacted to Edward's presence. She wanted to reach out to him and crawl in his arms, but his cold words rang through her head,_

"_That _thing_ is just going to cause you heartache."_

_Edward never even grieved over the loss of his child; his cruel demeanor of his unborn child broke Bella's spirit and shattered her love. _

_Bella was vaguely aware that another man entered the room and began talking, but her eyes were having a difficult time focusing. Her heart was pounding veraciously, as if it was going to leap from her chest at any moment. She could only take shallow breaths, and all her focus was fighting against her body that wanted to collapse on the table before her._

_Edward's voice pushed through the fog, and Bella could hear the angry tenor of its tone. She tried with all of her strength to look up into his eyes and speak, tell him how she felt. _

_Bella wanted to tell him that she loved him, that she kept their child alive. She wanted to jump into his arms and have him make everything be all right. She wanted him to be her protector._

_But Bella's mind began to shut down. Barely able to keep her body upright, she felt Leah force a pen into her immobile hands and made scratches on the pages. Everything was blurring in and out of focus. Her mind felt clouded._

_Hands helped lift her from her chair, and after what felt like hours she began to shuffle toward the door._

_All the colors of the building began to blend together and her feet barely touched the ground._

"_Leah, help—" Bella was able to push out before she slumped over and collapsed to the ground._

_Leah stopped her fall, and lifted her petite charge bridal style before running toward the door while ignoring the stares of folks in the hallway. She ran out the door of the building and to her rental car. _

"_It's going to be alright Bella," Leah said shakily, trying to reassure her, "We'll be at the hospital in no time."_

_Adrenaline coursed through Leah's veins as she drove and noticed through the rear view mirror Bella was beginning to convulse and shake. Her skin was now totally pale and if not for her faint breaths, Leah would have thought her amongst the undead. _

_Flinging the car near the emergency room entrance, Leah jumped from her seat and began yelling for help. An orderly and a couple of nurses ran through the sliding doors, one with a gurney, the other helping to pull Bella from the car._

"_She started to get faint and fell a few minutes ago. In the car she was shaking," Leah swallowed, "And she's pregnant."_

_One of the nurses nodded, as she rolled Bella through the doors and began spouting back information to one of the doctors who had heard the commotion. _

_Leah followed them inside when a hand came to her shoulder, "Miss, you will have to wait out here. These forms need to be filled out, can you do that on the patient's behalf?"_

"_Yes," Leah grabbed the clipboard and went to the waiting room as she was directed. Grabbing her phone she pulled it out and began dialing numbers, "Charlie, you need to come quick, Bella's in the ER…"_

_Forks was a small town with an equally small hospital, gossip spread quickly through the building that Chief Swan's daughter was admitted. Being the chief of staff, Dr. Carlisle Cullen was one of the first to know. _

_Although his specialty was cardiology, Carlisle was often known to fill in other areas with such a small staff at his hospital. When he heard of his daughter-in-laws admittance, without hesitation he made his way down to the ground floor to check on her status._

_After a quick prep, he rushed into her room and checked with the attending physician on her status. The attending began listing off her vitals and stats, making careful note that the patient was closely related to his boss and knowing there was no error for his diagnosis._

_The attending then quickly told Carlisle that the best they could do for Bella was to stabilize her and have her air lifted to Seattle where they had the proper equipment to help in 'her condition'._

_It was at that moment that Carlisle learned that his daughter-in-law was pregnant again. After her first miscarriage she had come in confidence to him to seek a second opinion. He was well aware of her diagnosis, and the risks she was facing by caring this pregnancy to full term. It took about an hour, but the team was able to stabilize her enough to transport her, and an airlift helicopter had already been called in and was on its way to Forks._

"_I will speak with the family," Carlisle directed and his staff continued their work. He walked out to the waiting room to find a distraught Leah Clearwater, and an emotional Charlie Swan. Beside him was a young man that Carlisle recognized from the reservation, a young Jacob Black, "She is stable right now."_

"_Thank God," Charlie muttered._

"_We think it is in Bella's best interest to send her by a medical helicopter to Seattle to continue her treatment. To do so I would need to have her husband's consent—" Carlisle continued._

"_That is not necessary, I have Bella's power of attorney," Leah interrupted._

"_Don't you think should at least consult with Edward?" Carlisle tried to reason._

"_As of this afternoon they are longer married, this matter is between myself, Bella, and her next of kin, Chief Swan."_

"_I see," Carlisle ran his hand through his hair in nervousness, "You realize you are putting me into an awkward situation."_

"_Awkward or not, you are her physician and bound by a certain confidentiality. If you do not think you can do this, then you should remove yourself from this case immediately."_

"_Ms. Clearwater, I am more then aware of the ethics involved with my patients. But as Edward's father I am concerned about the –"_

"_Let me stop you right there Dr. Cullen. While you may be her ex-husband's father, her care is no longer any of your concern. If you speak even one word about Bella being emitted into this hospital today, I will have you buried under a HIPA violation faster then it would take to say 'rectal exam'. Am I clear?"_

_Carlisle lowered his voice, "Edward has a right to know about his child."_

"_Who said it was his?" Leah glanced over her shoulder and directed her gaze at Jacob who was talking with Charlie but keeping close attention to the conversation between the two, "Bella's been gone a while and has many friends."_

"_Bella would never do that to Edward," Carlisle hissed, slowly losing the calm demeanor he was so well know for._

_Leah just shrugged her shoulders and put on a less then compassionate face and Carlisle turned around and walked out of the waiting room. Underneath her cool façade, she was bulking. She too knew that Bella would never betray Edward like that, and even to insinuate something of that nature was harsh. At this moment she only wanted to make sure Bella was safe._

Leah held the bills in her hands for a moment before putting them back into the album. She remembered the following months, Bella going in and out of the hospital regularly. During that time Leah wondered if it was all worth it, every time they went in the doctors would remind them that it was in Bella's best interest to terminate the pregnancy, but she would not budge.

Eventually Leah felt as protective of the baby bulge as Bella. And anytime someone would insinuate that Bella should get an abortion she began to feel as if it was a personal insult. The next few pages of the scrapbook were a testament of how right their decision was.

A photograph of Ellie just days after her birth graced the papers, and her small features were strikingly beautiful. When Bella went in for the emergency c-section, the doctor asked Leah with little sympathy, _"Who is the priority?"_

"_The child," _Leah had replied. She fingered the photograph; it was too close, just too close. At the time Leah knew that Bella would be around long enough for her daughter to make it, but the fact that she survived was nothing short of a miracle.

_A miracle is what we need now_, Leah thought, _we all need a miracle_.

* * *

Edward was pacing in the holding tank. There were a few other guys in there, most of them were drunk and passed out, but one fella was looking at him like he was a piece of meat.

Edward just glared at the pervert, but widened his eyes when the man just licked his lips and smiled. _Crap_, Edward thought, _I think I just turned him on_.

Taking a seat on one of the benches, Edward thought about the last few days. Small things pieced together like the child scribbles he found in Bella's old apartment. How ill Bella looked during their divorce proceedings. But it all boiled down to one thing.

He was a father.

His emotions were all over the place. In his heart of hearts he was still in love with Bella. Yet, he felt betrayed by her for taking this from him. All the years he missed with Ellie, all the years he missed with Bella. It all boiled down to why she would leave him.

He forced her to go to the clinic.

Edward slammed his fist against the wall and barely recognized the open wound he created in the process. He knew that even if Bella had refused to go that day, he would have continued to push her. It was far to great of a risk on her life to have a child.

And yet here he was, despite all his efforts to protect Bella she had defied him and had the child anyway. Something about her defiance angered him more. All he had ever tried to do was protect her, love her, and take care of her needs. He could not understand why that was not enough. Why she would turn against him and not only have the child, but not tell him of Ellie's existence.

Edward's emotions were even more conflicted, as they would occasionally drift back to the evening before and waking up in the arms of another woman.

Just as soon as Edward would chastise himself for his actions, the image of the man who came in to Bella's defense sprang forth. This had not only defended her, but went so far as to arrest him. It angered Edward to think of this heathen being in Bella's life, taking care of _his daughter_.

Edward's mind was all over the place and could only settle on one thing; Ellie's face.

He had seen her for only a moment, but a moment was enough for him to want to hold her and protect her from the world.

Yet here he sat in a jail cell far from being able to watch over his daughter. He wanted out, and it seemed like an unreasonable amount of time for them to hold him on what he thoroughly viewed as a bogus charge.

As if his question was answered, an officer walked toward the holding cell and looked inside with disinterest.

"Edward Cullen?"

"That's me," Edward jumped from his bench.

"Come with me, your lawyer is on the phone," the officer opened the cell door and directed Edward to a small room with only a chair and a phone on the wall. The officer pushed him in and only said before he closed the door, "You have ten minutes."

Edward quickly picked up the line, knowing immediately whom his mother would have contacted, "Hello."

"_Howdy brother_," the southern drawl was seeping through the phone line, "_I hear you are in a bit of a pickle._"

"Don't be funny with me Jasper," Edward chastised, "I only have ten minutes with you. What are we going to do?"

"_Well first just let me say that mom filled me in on this little situation you find yourself in, and pardon my French, but this is really fucked up."_

"I'm aware of that. Now how the hell am I going to get out of here?"

"_Don't worry, I am coming on the next flight out. In the mean time I have already filed to have your charges dismissed_."

"You are coming out to Chicago? Please don't tell me you told your wife."

"_You know I can't keep anything from Alice. That woman has more of a second sense then Silvia Brown._"

"Crap," Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, "When are you getting here?"

"_We are already at the airport waiting for our plane to board_," there was a hesitation on the line, "_I have to warn you about something and hope you can digest this while we get there._"

"Jasper, I don't have all day. What the hell are you talking about?"

"_Once this gets out, you realize that Bella is probably going to be arrested for federal kidnapping charges?_"

"What the fuck?" Edward screamed into the phone line.

"_Look, she took your daughter out of state without alerting you_."

"Charlie will probably take care of it."

"_It's not that easy. This is not a local problem, kidnapping is a federal offence. I just wanted to warn you that Bella is facing some major jail time." _Edward remained silent as he processed what Jasper was saying,_ "Edward, are you there? Did you hear me?"_

"Yeah, I heard you," He paused to digest this new information before whispering, "I'm not opposed to that."

This time it was Jasper who remained silent as he processed Edward's words before speaking up, "_Did I just hear you right? You want the woman you have been pining over for years to go to jail?_"

Edward thought over Jasper's words and all of the thoughts and emotions he was battling raced past his mind. The betrayal, Tanya, the jerk, Bella, the hurt, the remorse, most specifically his daughter.

The years without contact, his mother always keeping hope. The days wandering around the hope they picked out together. The long empty days of medical school coming home to an empty house. The lost days, the lost time.

"Yes."


	14. A Fool and A Coward

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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**"_Thou art a flesh monger, a fool, and a coward." ~Measure for Measure_

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**Chapter 14 – A Fool and A Coward**

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Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway with an omniscient clanging of keys. A brawly man with thick arms yet a boyish face stood before the holding cell and looked at the occupants.

A man was half laying on one of the benches, half his body was resting on the floor. His drunken snores let out a putrid breath that all of his cell mates were forced to endure. A couple officers upstairs delayed booking him because they wanted him to sleep off his overdose of whisky from the night before and figured they were doing the old man a service.

Across the cell was a middle aged, slightly overweight man who was sporting a black eye and bloody knuckles. His eyes would flick around the room in a paranoid manner every few minutes and take inventory of his fellow cellmates. Tapping his foot against the concrete floor, the sound beat in conjunction with the footsteps approaching down the hall.

"Cullen," the brawly officer called out.

Edward had his head in his hands deep in thought. Hearing his name he sat up and replied with a feeble, "Yes?"

"Looks like you have a friend upstairs," dimples appeared on the brawly officer's face, "You are free to go."

"About fucking time," Edward muttered and stood up. He was directed out of the cell and down the hall and through a stairwell. He expected to see Jasper with Alice in tow waiting for him, but instead his mother sat patiently on one of the plastic chairs in the lobby, "Were's Jazz?"

Esme stood up at his voice and rushed to his side, "He's not here yet."

"Then how did I get out?"

"I don't know," Esme shook her head in confusion before muttering, "Oh Edward, I forgot to bring along shoes!"

Edward looked down at his bare feet, another reminder of the debacle of his life, "It doesn't matter. Is Bella still here?"

"When I followed you in, she went upstairs while they took you back there. She hasn't come down since."

Edward looked up the stairwell with an inquisitive stare. It appeared all that was upstairs were office spaces, and for the life of him he could not understand why Bella would be up there. He wanted to follow after Bella and confront her right then, but he also had quite a bit of time to contemplate his next move while sitting with his fellow cell mates. His next move needed to be cautious, there was not more at stake then reclaiming his ex-wife. He had Ellie to think about.

"I need to see Jasper."

* * *

Leah put Ellie down for a nap, and then wandered out into the small living room where she immediately collapsed on the couch.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath, cognizant that a four-year-old lay sleeping on the other side of a very thin plaster wall.

The day had certainly not gone as she had planned. Instead of wowing Bella with their dream home, she was ambushed by the Cullen's.

There were many things in her life that Leah regretted, but taking care of Bella and Ellie was not one of them. She hated Edward and how he reacted to the thought of his daughter. Men were always controlling the situatio, and the women were left to suffer.

Leah stood up and walked over to the small portable iPod dock and scrolled through her play lists. The distinct notes of Mozart's Requiem filled the room, and she pulled down the volume to not awake a sleeping Ellie.

So much controversy surrounded the finale of the piece, but in its final workings it still remained a masterpiece. _A tribute to death written at his death_, Leah sighed.

Moving back to the couch, Leah knew she had several calls to make. Charlie would need to be notified of events, if nothing else to comfort his daughter. She could make him relay the news to Jacob and cut out that awkward call.

But her first priority would be set up a counter attack to what would inevitably be Edward's response to finding out he was a father. The Cullen's may be in shock now, but Leah had no doubt that as soon as the shock wore in his next call would be to an attorney.

Leah's role would quickly move from friend and confidant to protecting the interests of her client.

She lay lost in her thoughts, but finally realized how long she had been sitting in shock when the Requiem gave the voices to the fifth movement, 'Sanctus'. The haunting melody ran through her.

But Leah could not make herself begin the barrage of calls. Instead her mind was plagued by the question of why she hated Edward. He had done nothing to her personally, yet all these years she had shielded his former wife and child from him.

_Because he hurt Bella like Sam hurt me_, Leah softened at the admission.

"_Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus_

_Dominus Deus Sabaoth._

_Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua._

_Hosanna in excelsis._

_Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini._

_Hosanna in excelsis."_

It was a communion of thoughts, and Leah felt no less purged of repentance then before the revelation. Although she craved more time to organize all the chaos, she resigned herself to taking care of the task at hand.

Picking up her cell phone she dialed a familiar number, "Charlie. It's me, Leah. We have a problem…"

* * *

The moment Esme and Edward arrived back at the town house, Edward bolted for the stairs. He needed some time to himself to process the morning's events, and Esme was not helping him to focus.

Edward stepped out of the shower and into his master bedroom. His skin was still rubbed raw as he failed to extricate the mental filth around him. He caught a glance of his naked body in the mirror and his mind flashed back to that morning, waking up in Tanya's bed with her trying to pleasure him.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember anything from the night before, and his guilt compounded. He did not know how he would face Tanya at work now. Worse, he did not know how he could face Bella now.

But his indiscretions that made him feel as if the world was against him had amazingly moved to the least of his worries. Now he had to contend with his ex-wife, the love of his life, lying to him about their daughter for years.

"Shit! Fuck! Goddammit! ASSSHIT!—" Edward screamed out obscenities to his mirrored form. The vein in his neck was pulsing and rage fumed on.

A quiet knock came from the door and Esme's gentle voice came through, "Are you alright in there?"

"_NO!_" Edward wanted to scream. He was as far from '_alright_' as any one man could be. Instead he took a breath and answered, "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay," Esme said with her voice filled with disbelief, "Alice and Jasper's cab just pulled up."

Edward threw on an old pair of pants and a ratty t-shirt, knowing he would be chastised by his younger sister for his style inhibitions but not really caring. He had been fingerprinted a few hours before and really did not feel the need to put on the designer pants she had purchased for him last Christmas.

_Badasses like me don't wear Armani,_ Edward thought while bounding down the stairs.

The front door was already open and Jasper Whitlock walked through heaving two pink suitcases into the foyer.

"Wife," Jasper yelled out the door, "What words in '_short trip to Chicago_' warranted four suitcases?"

Alice Whitlock sashayed through the front door and planted a kiss on her husband's cheek.

"Husband," she mocked, "Shut up and carry in my luggage. I have a mother to hug and brother to smack upside the head."

"Yes ma'am," Jasper grinned and ducked back outside to grab the remaining bags.

"Pink, really Alice?" Edward said in disdain at the hideous luggage.

Instead of retorting, Alice followed through with her threat and used her petite hand to slap her brother behind the ear, "Less likely to get stolen then plain old black."

"Ouch, that really hurt!" Edward held the side of his head as the sting lingered.

"You've been keeping things from me Edward,"

"So you hit me?"

"I have been trying to get a hold of you for over a month and you have ignored all of my calls! Yeah you deserve to be given a good smack," Alice did a quick survey of the foyer, "The house is so different from what I remember."

"It still feels the same though," Edward muttered under his breath.

Esme walked out of the kitchen clutching her cell phone and smiled when she saw her daughter and son-in-law. She always felt out of place when her family was far away, and now she felt even more complete. Coming forward she gave them each a generous hug before turning toward Edward.

"It took a few well placed calls but I know where Bella is staying," Edward eyed her suspiciously for a moment and his mother simply shrugged, "What? I have connections."

"Mom, why don't you help Alice settle in with her four _massive_ bags of luggage. Jazz and I need to have a little talk."

While Esme and Alice put away clothes and took a tour of all the renovations to the townhouse, Edward guided Jasper to his library. He shut the doors, and instead of going to the leather seats as his brother-in-law did, Edward gravitated to his piano bench. It comforted him and brought him a bit of solace.

His fingers dusted across the piano as a soft melody came to mind. Tension leaked into his body and he thrust his fists onto the keys with a crashing sound reverberating throughout the room.

"I have this distinct feeling that you are upset right now," Jasper cocked his eyebrow.

"Thank you Mr. Obvious," Edward retorted and turned toward his brother-in-law.

"Alright Edward, before we begin, I have to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Why didn't you call Garrett about this situation? He was your divorce attorney."

Edward grimaced and scratched the back of his neck, "Umm, yeah. We had a falling out."

"What kind of falling out?"

"I may have punched him when he wouldn't let me follow Bella to talk to her after our divorce hearing."

"So should I be worried about a black eye in the near future?"

"Only if you hold me back."

"So noted," Jasper sat back in his chair and took a deep breath, "So how was your time in the slammer?"

"A load of crap. It took you long enough to get me out."

"Well, it was a bogus charge anyways. The officer should not have been on your property in the first place. However, I can't be given the credit for your quick release."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like you have a buddy at the precinct, because they sprung you before my paperwork was even processed."

"Who do you think it was?"

"I wondered the same thing," Jasper sat back with an amused expression on his face. "I spoke with a very chatty receptionist at the station who was a little loose with the gossip. She mentioned that a Detective Isabella Swan was to thank for making sure you didn't become someone's bitch behind bars."

"Bella?" Edward said with exasperation.

"Umm—you missed the punch line on that one Edward. _Detective_ Bella," Edward scrunched his eyes with confusion, "For a doctor you can be a bit dense. Let me be a little more succinct: Bella is a police officer."

Edward's eyes widened at the news, "Fuck."

"I'd say. Your ex-wife is a gun toting officer who could probably shoot your pansy ass without even flinching."

"What the hell am I going to do?" Edward stood up and began pacing in front of the window.

"I am assuming the first thing you will want to do is petition for custody. They will have to determine paternity and that might require a DNA test. But if Esme is right, that kiddo of yours is practically a mini-Edward."

"Yeah, she is," Edward stopped pacing for a moment and genuinely smiled. Thinking about his brief glimpse of Ellie was the first thought that had lightened his mood all day.

"Why don't we focus on that and then go from there?" Jasper said, "I know this is messed up—instant fatherhood and all. I'm still mad at you for ignoring my wife and worrying her to the point of tears. _But_—you are family and I want you to know we are here for you."

Edward nodded briefly in acknowledgement and stood momentarily starring out the window at his quiet backyard. He closed his eyes and spoke barely loud enough for Jasper to hear, "Is it wrong that even after everything she has put me through, a part of me still loves her?"

Jasper wanted to say "yes" that Edward was crazy to care about Bella with all the pain she threw at him. He wanted to tell Edward to forget about that crazy bitch and run her into the ground.

Yet, when he put himself into that position and replaced Bella with Alice, it forced him into another place. If Edward loved Bella half as much as he loved Alice, his feelings became muddled. Being the brilliant lawyer he had become, Jasper evaded the question.

"Does it matter if you love her? If she loved _you_, would she have put _you_ through all this crap?"

* * *

Bella had followed behind as Volt brought in Edward for processing. As soon as they entered the precinct she headed upstairs to her desk to wait for him to finish up his charade.

Volt walked back to his adjacent desk with a smug smile until he saw Bella's face. He spent the next ten minutes being scolded about abuse of powers from his partner.

"Don't you ever pull that crap again, do you hear me?" Bella began to rant. A few of the officers stuck around to watch the show and grimaced at the tongue lashing Volt was receiving. One passed behind Bella's back and motioned to Volt and began miming a ball and chain dragging back his leg.

Bella broke her tirade to throw a backward smack at the mime behind her, "Yorkie you idiot, I can see your reflection in the window."

The other officers would constantly raze Volt that his relationship with his partner was like a marriage without the benefits. Most would assume that Volt who had been on the force for over twelve years could pull out his seniority card with his partner whenever she started to scold him.

However, those who worked closest with the two knew that it was Bella who wore the pants in their work relationship. She did not demand that Volt answer to her, but in an odd way he had the natural affinity to protect Bella if only for the reason that he was intrigued by her. Oddly enough, she was blissfully unaware of her unknowing power over him.

Volt had become fascinated with his petite partner from the first day on the job. He had tried to get a good read on her, but she was unlike any officer he had ever met. She never mentioned a thing about her home life, and not a single personal effect was on her tiny office desk. It was as if she entirely split her work world from her home world, and this enthralled him.

Every one of Volt's former partners, including his first who had been his mentor, eventually learned to defer to him. He certainly was not the strongest officer, the best marksman, or even the most thorough detective, but his family ties and reputation made him a formable person on the police force. There was even talk of putting him the pool to be considered for sergeant within the next few years, an unheard of feat that would make him the youngest in their departments' history.

But you would never know that watching Volt sheepishly take every single one of Bella's angry words. Deep down he was amused by her tenacity and only he knew the juxtaposition of his outward appearance versus his inward musings.

Bella only silenced her rant as she huffed out of the room and make sure the charges had been dropped against Edward. As she walked out of the open office space, Volt turned around and grumbled at the onlookers.

"Alright, show's over slackers, get back to work!" he yelled and strode to his desk to type out his report on the latest case he and Bella were investigating.

Being the observant detective, Bella was quite aware of the stares she had received from her fellow officers. With the shock of the morning she finally just snapped, and it just so happened that Volt was in her path when the storm emerged.

She confirmed that Edward was going to be released immediately, but knew there was no way she could face him right at that moment. This day was never supposed to come, but the only explanation was the stars had aligned just right to create the perfect storm in her life.

Underlying all of the verbal lashing she had given was the cover to the terror she felt in that moment. She walked down a quiet empty hallway throwing her back against the concrete wall. Sliding down slowly she met the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees.

_He could take her away from me_, Bella sobbed tearlessly.

Creating a secret life had worn her down. Hiding a daughter was not an easy task, even more difficult when her only living family was halfway across the country. It was times like this that Bella desperately wished her mother was still alive because she would have comforted Bella and in her own crazy way brought her a bit of mental relief.

Bella was in no state of mind to be at the station and she knew no one could find her in the hallway looking like this. Her body ached but there was no time for hesitation, she could not be discovered in such a compromising position. Standing up she smoothed out her shirt and began walking back to her desk.

The Sergeant's office door was ajar as Bella passed by and a voice echoed through, "Detective Swan, could you please step in for a minute."

It did not come out as a question, and Bella took in a deep breath before turning around. Quick flashes crossed her mind.

_God, I hope he didn't see me break down. Crap, what if he found out about Volt bringing in Edward?_

"Could you shut the door behind you?" the Sergeant barely looked away from his computer screen. He was quiet for a moment before looking up and motioning to the chair across from him, "Please, have a seat."

"Sergeant, is there something I can help you with?" Bella asked hesitantly. Sergeant Banner dazed off for a moment before he responded.

"Swan, I wanted to follow up and see how the Bree Tanner case is going."

Bella breathed in a sigh of relief that her boss's questioning was moved in this direction rather than her personal life, "Well sir, we have hit some dead ends. There is barely any evidence to go on and all of the witnesses to the assault were complete inebriated. At this point we need a viable lead to continue the investigation."

"I was afraid of that," Banner rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh, "Any theories we can poke around?"

"I interviewed the family last week, trying to see if there were any motivating factors of why someone would go after the girl. They didn't _say_ anything about any animosity toward the family…" Bella's voice trailed off.

"Something not sit well?"

"Yeah—" Bella thought carefully about her next words, "Her father was very tense during the whole interview. I just have this gut feeling that there is more going on there then he is letting on."

"Maybe you could poke around there? See what his connections are?"

"I've started to. The Tanner's old money goes all the way back to laying down the continental railroad. Now Mr. Tanner owns a multinational freight company. They are a logistics provider for a high volume of importers and exporters. Their corporate offices are here in Chicago, but they also have containers coming in mainly through the ports in Charlotte and Seattle."

"You think he is involved in trafficking?" Banner leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes. It is hard to get a reading from him. I can't tell if he is directly involved or if perhaps he is just looking the other direction while it happens," Bella starred out the window for a moment and could faintly hear the busy street traffic below, "I can't shake the feeling that the assault on his daughter was somehow a warning, a precursor threat."

"Detective Swan, what's on your mind?"

"I think we are dealing with something bigger than we originally thought."

"Does Detective Volt share your concerns?"

"He is convinced this is a girl at the wrong place at the wrong time type of crime."

Banner paused for a moment and appeared thoughtful, "Volt does not think there is a connection to her father?"

"The only connection he sees is that her daddy's company makes enough money that Bree can go out on the town and party like the Hilton's."

"So you disagree."

"Not _exactly_. At this point, anything is plausible. My gut just keeps telling me we are missing something."

"What makes you think that?"

"The attack feels premeditated. There are surveillance cameras located at points all around the building, and the point of her attack is miraculously a blind whole in the coverage. There were plenty of potential witnesses in the area, yet she was assaulted and no one was an eyewitness. Someone should have been able to identify the perpetrator, yet no one can even confirm his existence. Something does not add up—he knew what he was doing."

"Alright. Keep me posted. I am getting a lot of pressure from the higher ups to make an arrest. From here on out I want daily updates on your investigation, pass that along to Volt. If someone close to Ms. Tanner so much as orders a coffee from the corner shop, I want to be the first to know."

"Yes, sir."

"You can go now Swan," Sergeant Banner dismissed Bella and immediately went back to examining something innocuous on his computer screen.

Bella stood from her chair exiting Banner's office and made her way back to her desk. Volt looked up from a stack of papers he was examining and took in her appearance. When Bella met his watchful gaze she saw him squint slightly as if he was trying to get a good reading on what was going through her mind.

Bell shrugged and took a seat. Volt's desk was situated directly across from hers in the main office space. He looked at her thoughtfully before turning back to his work.

"Banner wants us to give him daily updates on the Tanner case," Bella mentioned before opening a manila file folder.

"Okay," Volt replied without looking up from his computer screen.

Undeterred by her partner's obvious attempt to remain distant as retribution for calling him out earlier, Bella opened her case files and continued her research on Bree Tanner's family connections. She did not have a shift until later that evening, but she did not want to accidently walk out and run into Edward or his family.

Instead she pored over a few files with information she had requested from one of the in-office researchers. Everything in the file contents was information she had already gathered. She was meticulous in her combing of the details, but was about to give up on this direction of investigation. Bella turned to the last page and read a surprising bit of text.

"_No way_," Bella muttered under hear breath. She read over the information one more time. Sitting back in her chair, she gazed out a window at the other end of the room. Clearing her throat, she gained her partner's attention.

"What is it Swan?"

"We have a new lead."


	15. No Word to Save Thee

**a/n: Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot and characterization is mine.**

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* * *

**"_No word to save thee." ~Measure for Measure_

* * *

**Chapter 15 – No Word to Save Thee**

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* * *

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Bella rounded the street corner as her feet pounded the pavement. Thanksgiving had come and gone with little fanfare, and the cold early December air filled her lungs while each breath out left a cold trail in her wake.

Her self-defense teacher, Rina, had turned Bella onto running. Bella felt at peace when she ran, it was the one part of the day that she would steal away and allow herself to think and contemplate. Today she was running to channel her frustration.

The results of the court ordered paternity test had arrived by certified mail the prior morning. The documents confirmed that Ellie Swan was indeed Edward Cullen's daughter. There was no shock in the announcement; even Bella had not refuted this fact. However, it was a part of the legal process, and with this newfound document, Edward could move forward to claim a part of his daughter's life.

_The daughter he never wanted_, Bella thought bitterly.

Worsening her mood, Bella had to put in even more hours on the Tanner case. She and Volt had reached an impasse on what to make of Bella's newly discovered connection.

In the research files Bella had discovered that Bree Tanner's father had recently begun working with a company to begin imports in from Central American. They also had a new office opening up in the southwest. She had a hunch that she should at the very least questions Mr. Tanner on this new development, yet Volt had road blocked her every step of the way. He contended that Tanner's job had nothing to do with the random act of violence against his daughter. Volt and Bella were at an impasse.

To make matters worse two days before Leah's mother mailed her an invite to Sam and Emily's baby shower. Leah was livid and promptly called her mother and screamed at the audacity she had to throw their relationship into her face.

Bella quickly took the phone away from a hysterical Leah and tried to calm Sue down enough so that she could take care of her roommate who had stormed out of the living area and barricaded herself in the bedroom. Sue quickly explained that she thought that the two had reconciled because she ran into Emily at the grocery store the week before and mentioned that she missed her cousin.

Bella quickly explained that the feeling was not mutual. After trying to placate the distraught mother, she hung up the phone with Sue and quickly ran to Leah's bedroom and pleaded with her to open the door.

The episode left Leah noticeably on edge and Bella knew that the root cause of her frustration was split between the fateful invitations and trying to forecast Edward's next move in regards to Ellie.

It was obvious that the generally steadfast Leah was even more disappointed in herself for leading Bella right to Edward's townhouse. Bella had tried to reassure her that there was no way they could have prepared for that scenario. Despite her reassurances, Leah was remorseful and the dark circles under her eyes attested to the lost sleep she was experiencing.

The piece de la resistance was Bella's report to Banner on the Bree Tanner case. After uncovering several underground business transactions by Mr. Tanner's business and a known drug trafficker out of the southwest, Bella was convinced that the case was out of her jurisdiction. As much as it pained her to report to Banner that it should go to the drug traffic department, or even become a federal case, she knew that there were not enough resources in her department to provide justice.

Volt was still unconvinced of the connection, even after viewing the documents and the subpoenaed emails hinting of the illegal transactions. But Bella left it up to Banner to decide, and now she just needed to finish compiling her evidence and hand it over to the new federal investigators with her summary.

The only word that Bella could think of to adequately describe her life at that moment was an absolute clusterfuck.

The brisk air felt invigorating in Bella's chest. Chilled air served as a momentary distraction. Breathing in and out she made her way through the deserted park and neared a set of worn playground equipment.

Bella's instincts became suddenly heightened. Her body registered the presence of someone nearby before her brain and naturally began to kick in more adrenaline. Quickly moving her head around she began to survey the area. This part of the park was open and provided few places to hide.

During her quick examination, Bella missed a patch of ice on the sidewalk and lost balance before being launched forward onto the pavement. Her knee and hip took the brunt of the hit. She could also feel the burn through her worn in gloves where she tried to break her fall.

It was then that a slender woman in all black running tights ran swiftly passed the sprawled out Bella. The woman did not even glance in Bella's direction or check to see if she was injured. Instead her pace remained steady as she continued on her route.

The mystery woman's nonchalant attitude was unnerving to Bella. Pushing through the pain, she lifted herself from the ground and took a quick evaluation of her injuries. Sore and tender, there would certainly be a lot of bruising, but it did not feel like anything more serious. Limping out of the park, she continued out of the park and headed home.

Bella was hesitant about entering the small apartment. Besides the tension Leah was radiating after Sue's call, she had also reluctantly asked for Bella to give her a decision.

Leah was trying to put together a strategy and anticipate Edward's next move in Ellie's custody. She thought it might be in Bella's best interest to appear to put forth some effort and allow him some visitation time.

Bella was hesitant, but slowly being worn down. Within days of the arrest debacle, Esme had showed up on the sidewalk outside of Bella's temporary home and pleaded to see her granddaughter. Bella wanted to just run past her, but in her account Esme had done nothing wrong to push her away. Instead she and simply sobbed, muttering what was almost inaudible, "She's not here right now."

"_Please, when can I see her?"_

"_Ellie's at the park with Leah. Come back at three o'clock, you can see her then."_

Promptly at two forty-five, Esme was waiting patiently outside, her hands slightly fidgeting with a worn tissue. Bella took pity on her former mother-in-law and opened the door to let her in. After mentioning that Ellie and Leah were not quite back yet, Esme was ushered into the small living area and offered some tea.

A few minutes later Ellie came bounding through the home and came to a stop when she saw the stranger sitting on a worn chair. She looked at her with familiarity and quirked her small head to the side in contemplation.

"_Who are you?" _The question did not come out as rude, simply inquisitive.

Esme had water in her eyes and hesitated not knowing quite how to respond. Bella jumped in, _"Ellie, this is your Grandma Esme. She wanted to meet you."_

A soft,_ "Grandma Esme," _passed through Ellie's lips as she processed this information. Her mother had told her stories of Grandma Esme, but in her young mind they all seemed like fairytales. Just like the characters in her books, she always thought of her grandmother as something in her imagination, something untouchable, _"You're real?"_

"_Very much so,"_ Esme replied aching to touch her granddaughter, _"But I can't believe that you are."_

Ellie did Esme one better and ran across the room, flinging herself into her grandmother's arms. A mess of bronze curls mixed with brown that hinted of grey.

Leah, aware that Esme would be there to greet them thanks to a text message from Bella, edged quietly toward her room. Bella simply sat at the modest kitchen table and watched the interaction before her.

Esme had been to the house almost every day thereafter, always with Bella's supervision.

Neither woman made mention of the fact that Edward had never stopped by. It was obvious that if Esme knew, he also knew where Bella was living. Neither woman talked about the large elephant that was stomping in the room. There discussion remained civil and always lined with a hint of tension.

It did not escape Bella's notice that in the last week Esme began softening toward her former daughter-in-law. There was no apparent reason for the change in her behavior, but there were subtle differences in the way Esme interacted with Bella. When Esme asked for a rag to clean up some apple juice Ellie spilled, she settled her hand on Bella's shoulder. During their brief conversations, she willingly let her eyes create soft smiles.

There was no one big thing that seemed like there was a shift between Bella and Esme. Rather it was the multitude of small things that went on between the two.

Of course there was still the insecurity in their relationship. It was the reason for Bella's desperate run that morning to relieve some tension. The weather had turned more frigid, and the brisk air coming off of Lake Michigan was brutal even for the locals. But she needed to blow off some steam.

Today was the day Bella was going to allow Ellie to travel alone with Esme to the Shedd Aquarium for an outing.

Ellie was over the moon with excitement. She loved dolphins and was hoping that Nemo would be there so she could talk with him. Not wanting to dampen her daughter's enthusiasm, Bella plastered on a fake smile and listened to Ellie's plans for her trip.

Esme made sure to repeatedly tell Bella that Edward would not be joining them on the outing. His hours at the hospital were apparently erratic as of late. It also did not escape Bella's notice that Esme wore a slight scowl when she mentioned her adoptive son. Bella did not know that Esme was secretly happy that her adoptive son would not be joining them since he had been exceptionally irritable lately.

Bella opened the door and saw a slightly sleepy Ellie hunched over a bowl of cereal. Checking the wall clock she verified that it was only 5:45 in the morning.

"What are you doing up so early Miss Ellie-Pie?" Bella asked as she stripped out of her jacket and gloves.

A tired looking Leah stepped out of the kitchen nursing a coffee cup, "She ran into my room saying she was too excited to sleep."

"You don't look too awake anymore," Bella chuckled.

"Yeah, I think she lost some steam," Leah muttered and took a sip of her caffeine miracle.

"Mama, when is Grandma Esme gonna come?" Ellie looked up and Bella noticed some Lucky Charms plastered to her chin.

"Not for another three hours, the aquarium does not even open up until nine o'clock."

"Oh…" Ellie's head jerked slightly as she tried to fight against falling back to sleep.

"Come on baby, why don't we go rest together?" Bella scooped Ellie out of her chair and brought her to their bedroom. Snuggling in the two fell asleep almost instantaneously.

Leah peaked her head into their room and sighed before stalking back to her bedroom, "Sure, they get to go back to bed. I just had to drink the stupid coffee."

* * *

Esme pulled in front of the small house at the arranged time and walked to toward the front door. Everything she did was meticulous because she needed to gain Bella's trust. Not just for herself, but also for her son.

It was no secret around the townhouse that he was an absolute bear to live with. What was more disturbing was that the shock of learning about Ellie seemed to be eclipsed by what appeared to be drama at the hospital. Edward would come home at night and be even more ornery then when he left. His mood swings were starting to give her whiplash.

Jasper and Alice had left several weeks before to return to Washington, and their reprieve was sorely missed by Esme. She was ready to pull out her hair with his up and down attitude. But today she would set that all aside because she would spend the day out with her granddaughter.

Ringing the bell, the door was answered by Leah who was dressed in her suit and ready for work.

"Morning," Leah opened the door and allowed Esme in. Although Esme felt a slight warming in Bella's behavior, Leah had gone the opposite direction. Although not openly hostile, she remained closed off and on the periphery whenever Esme was around.

"Good morning Leah," Esme returned the greeting with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

_Buck up little camper. Just think about Ellie, you get to spend all day with Ellie. _Esme repeated the mantra in her head.

"Umm, I think Bella and Ellie are still in their room. I'll go get them," Leah rushed down the hallway in an apparent attempt to escape the awkward situation.

A few moments later a sleepy Ellie walked into the hallway still rubbing her eyes. The moment she saw her grandmother, a huge smile crept on her face.

"Grandma!" Ellie squealed running down the hallway and jumping into Esme's waiting arms.

"Hello my sweet," Esme returned the hug.

Ellie nuzzled into Esme's neck and whispered, "We gonna go see the dolphins."

"You have one very excited girl today. This is all she can seem to think about," Bella walked into the room fastening her holster under her coat.

"Well, I am just as excited," Esme turned her attention toward Bella and nodded to the belt, "I didn't know you were going in to work today."

"Oh, I wasn't going to, but I figured I would catch up on a case I'm working on after I run an errand," Bella walked over to them and gave Ellie a kiss on her forehead, "It's not like I have anything to do today. Not like I'm going to tail you guys or anything."

Esme blushed and forced a smile on her face. Although the tension was waning, she acknowledged that there was still some anxiety between the two of them. She would not admit it, but Esme did actually think that Bella would follow them and make sure Ellie was returned.

"We'll be back by three, and if you need me at all I will have my cell phone on me at all times."

"Sounds good," Bella pulled Ellie from Esme's arms and gave her a big squeeze before speaking with a bit of authority, "Now remember Miss Ellie-pie, you listen to Grandma Esme at all times. No wondering off or sassing off for that matter. Best behavior. Got that?"

"Yes Mama," Ellie's vivid green eyes looked with a great deal of seriousness. It was at moments like this that Bella was reminded of how similar her mannerisms were to her father.

"Good, now let's go get your booster seat and put it in Grandma Esme's car."

Bella helped strap Ellie in and waved goodbye as Esme drove down the street. The morning rush traffic had subsided, and the drive was going along well when a squealing erupted from the backseat.

"Look, look, look, dolphins!"

Esme glanced to her left and sure enough, a banner for the aquarium let them know they were close. Following the signs, Esme found a parking space in a nearby lot and took great care to unbuckle Ellie and hold onto her hand. Not a single scratch would come to Ellie while she was under her grandmother's care.

They were amongst the first ones at the aquarium that morning. Already a school tour group had dropped off a busload of children who were running around freely while their teachers and chaperones tried to rein them in.

Bypassing the pandemonium in the front lobby, Esme produced her prepaid tickets and directed Ellie inside. They were going to start out at Camp Shedd, a fun interactive activity where the kids could "canoe" through the great lakes and meet up with local wildlife. Ellie giggled when they passed the small fish and her eyes widened when she saw a large sturgeon.

_I wish Carlisle was here with us_, Esme thought to herself. Never in their entire marriage had the two ever spent so long giving each other the silent treatment. In her heart she wanted to forgive him, but he never said the words.

_I wish you were her too_, _Elizabeth_, Esme though to the heavens. It seemed so wrong to her that her sister was robbed of not only these little moments with her granddaughter, but her son as well, _now can you help get the stick out of your son to stop acting so emo and make up his mind. The sulking around is starting to get annoying. He needs to get mad or make peace, or gah! Just feel something!_

"Grandma, do we get to see the dolphins now?" Ellie pulled Esme from her thoughts.

"Sure thing sweetie, they have a show in half an hour. Lets go find some seats."

* * *

Bella watched as the car drove away, and for the first time in her young life, Ellie was not with her, Charlie, or Leah. But in her heart, Bella knew that this was for the best.

_Esme has more than shown she loves Ellie_, Bella thought. And to her that meant her daughter's safety; body and soul.

Pulling out her own keys, Bella headed over to the old yellow Nissan and made her way across town to a small coffee shop near her precinct.

When she walked in the door, Bella was immediately welcomed by a set of friendly eyes and a warm smile.

"It seems like forever since I've seen you," he stood and greeted her.

"I'm sorry about that Marc. It's just been a rough few weeks."

"I know," Bella quirked her eyebrow and Marc clarified, "I spoke with Picia, and she mentioned what happened at Edward's house. Anyway, why don't you have a seat and I'll order you something to drink."

"Thanks, I'd like that."

Marc hurried over to the counter with Bella's order. When he returned to the table, she put on a small forced smile and thanked him for the drink.

"Bella, if you need someone to talk to, well—I'm a good listener."

"I know you are. It's just that things are so complicated right now," Bella rolled the cup slowly between her hands, "I just wish there was a magic solution to everything and, poof! All better."

"So it's true then, Edward is Ellie's dad?"

"Yeah, he is," the two sat in silence for several minutes, each taking the time to occasionally sip from their drinks.

Marc finally broke silence, "Are you going to go back to him?"

Bella was in the midst of a sip and spit it back out onto the table, "No absolutely not!" after taking a couple deep breaths, she spoke with a calmer voice, "I am not in a place to forgive him for what he did before Ellie was born. We were young and thought we were in love. But I have grown up since I left Forks, and I am not the weak little girl that needs his protection anymore."

"Does he still love you?" Marc hedged.

"No, I am pretty sure I burned that bridge a long time ago. He knows where I live now, and Ellie too for that matter. But he hasn't made even a slight effort to contact either of us."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't care."

Bella closed her eyes, and for a moment she pictured his face when he was younger. A little glimmer would catch in the light and always sparkle. When she last saw him at the townhouse and he looked into her eyes, that brilliant light was gone, "When Edward cares about something, he goes after it with everything he has. It's when he acts indifferent that it means nothing to him. He's an all or nothing kind of guy."

"You said you changed. Isn't it possible that Edward has too? Maybe he just needs time to think," Marc leaned forward and rested a hand on Bella's. She looked up and saw nothing but kindness.

Giving Marc a crooked smile, Bella replied, "Gee, it sounds like you are rooting on the opposition."

Marc was slightly taken aback, "I didn't know that I was even in the running."

"You are," Bella blushed and quickly looked down to hide her embarrassment.

Not wanting to see Bella cover herself, Marc took his free hand and lifted her chin up forcing their eyes to meet, "Has anyone ever told you that your blush is beautiful."

The complement forced Bella to snap out of her revere. Someone had indeed told her that her blush was beautiful. Edward would say it all the time, often in hopes of making her blush even more. He said it was like fine wine brushed across her cheeks, and only he knew that it continued down all the way to her breasts. After all these years, she could still feel his lips and tongue slowly making their way across her rose colored skin. The memory was too much and she needed a distraction.

"Is your sister doing well?"

Marc recognized the abrupt change in conversation but thought better than mention anything. Instead he politely replied, "Picia is okay. She still feels awful about the whole debacle around the showing."

"Really? How could she have known?"

"She just mentioned feeling slightly uneasy about Mrs. Cullen's interest in Ellie the first time Leah toured the house."

"Esme never mentioned that—oh my gosh, she knew!"

"It's probably not good to jump to conclusions like that," Marc tried to reason.

"Well, she suspected it at least. The whole thing was a trap," and with the one realization, all of the walls that had slowly started to dissipate between Bella and Esme were suddenly back up.

"Well, Picia still feels terrible about it. Volt laid into her pretty bad. He was angry she put you into such a compromising position."

This news surprised Bella greatly, "Volt never mentioned that."

"Yeah, I stopped over and Picia was in tears. I guess I just missed the show, because she said he had just stormed out a few minutes before I arrived."

"He shouldn't have yelled at her for a misunderstanding."

"Bella," Marc leaned in on the table to get closer, "I don't think you know how much your partner cares about you. Any time your name is even mentioned he tunes in. If I didn't know better, I would say he is fascinated by you."

"Are we talking about the same guy? Because the Volt I know likes beer, brats, the Bears, and his woman—more or less in that order."

"I think you underestimate how protective he is of you, Bella. But better you than me. If I'm being perfectly honest, my brother-in-law gives me the creeps. There is just something about him that leaves me unsettled."

Bella let out her first good laugh in a long time. She definitely understood why some folks thought her partner was a bit odd, but the eccentricity was what also made him an effective detective. He was so easily able to tap into the mind of individuals they questioned. It was like he opened up their thoughts and had them all on display.

The two continued to chat for a bit on lighter subjects before Bella glanced at her watch and noticed the time, "I'm so sorry Marc, I just noticed how late it is. If I am going to get anything done on this case today, I really have to get going."

"I understand," Marc stood and grabbed their empty mugs to throw into the wash bin, "So did you mean it before that you and I have a chance?"

Bella was putting on her coat slowly, trying to think of the right words to say, "My life is really complicated right now, and I can't commit to anything because my focus has to be on Ellie."

"Bella," Marc said softly just as they stepped out of the coffee shop, "I realize that you can't start a steady relationship right now. But I have to know, do I even stand a chance?"

"Yes, you do."

Marc grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, "That's all I needed to know right now. I'll take a small possibility over a flat out rejection any day."

Bella let out her second real laugh in quite some time and headed over to her monstrosity of a car to drive to the station.

* * *

Edward stood in the hallway looking over the chart of his newest patient, a two-month-old infant named Jane.

Jane was admitted with Pulmonary Valvar Stenoisis when her pediatric doctor noticed a slight heart murmur during a routine checkup. She was quickly admitted and after several tests were run, the original diagnosis was confirmed.

Edward treated her with balloon dilation, which was less invasive, but still risky for such a young child. At first, Jane held on like a trooper, but complications quickly lead to an open-heart surgery.

The first few days after the operation where stressful, and it became difficult for Edward to leave his personal life out of his practice.

Jane appeared to be recovering well, and her family was elevating Edward to almost a worship symbol status. Her grandmother stopped by with borsch made with an old family recipe her mother brought with her when she emigrated from Russia. Her father and mother went so far as to invite him to Christmas dinner to celebrate.

As glad as Edward was to see his young patient doing so well after a potential life-threatening situation, it thrust him further into a state of despair.

All Edward could imagine was Bella and Ellie the first days after she was born. He knew that the pregnancy was high risk, and the likelihood of complications was astronomical. It was the reason he did not want to continue pregnancy in the first place. Of course the guilt hit him harder now that Ellie was alive and well.

_She is perfect_, Edward mused to himself. It felt wrong to him that he wanted it both ways. Before he wanted Bella safe, now he wanted Ellie to live.

The remorse compounded inside of Edward. As angry as he was with Bella for keeping his daughter from him, he knew he would have continued to push Bella for an abortion. And now knowing what lengths she would go to not to give up her child, he could only imagine the difficulties she faced alone.

Of course Edward knew nothing about the pregnancy, he knew nothing really about his daughter. Only the small morsels of information Esme would share with him when she was willing to acknowledge his presence around the townhouse. She had purposefully left Bella's address out in the open for him to see, her new telephone number displayed below.

Yet Edward did not make any moves to contact either Bella or his daughter because of second layer of filth.

Edward was reminded daily of his indiscretions with Tanya. She would corner him in the hallway; seek him out in the cafeteria. She went so far as to hunt him down in the on-call room, and climb into his bed after he had fallen asleep.

All the staff in Edward's department suspected they were having an affair, and no matter how hard he tried to ward of Tanya's advances she would come back twofold.

Today Edward had been successful in hiding away, but a familiar overpowering scent filled his senses. Cringing slightly he tried to ignore manicured hand that was rubbing across his back and escape to the safety of Jane's room where her mother could act as a succubus deterrent.

"Oh Eddie, don't act so shy," Tanya dug her nails even deeper into his back. Even through his shirt and lab coat, Edward could tell there would be marks left behind, "I came all the way over to your wing. The least you can do is give me a proper 'hello'."

Edward turned around and looked into the ice blue eyes, "Tanya, this is highly inappropriate. I have a patient to check on, and I don't want to keep her waiting—"

Tanya pulled Edward's shocked face close to her own and forced her tongue into his mouth. She used his surprise against him and pushed him back into the wall. Rubbing her thigh against him, she grew frustrated when his body would not respond to her advances.

Instead of showing her disappointment, Tanya took her hand and tried to stroke Edward's cock through his dress pants.

All this only took a matter of a few seconds, but once Edward regained his bearings he pushed Tanya away and hissed in a whisper, "Do not touch me again! If you do I will report you for sexual harassment."

Undeterred, Tanya leaned in, "You begged for me once before, and you will beg for me again."

She licked her lips and smirked before turning on her heals and heading down the hallway with a noticeable sway in her hip.

Edward took a moment to compose himself before he walked into Jane's room. Today was the day he had planned on finally calling Bella to try and start a relationship with Ellie before the custody hearings began. But once again the shame rose to the surface and he repeated the same mantra to he had for the past several weeks.

_Tomorrow I will call, tomorrow_…

* * *

Bella walked into the precinct office area and was met by a quiet pandemonium. There were more detective and officers in the building then usual, but they all wore the same grim faces.

Striding across the room, Bella was stopped by Detective Yorkie, "Thank goodness you're here Swan, I was just about to call you."

"What's going on?"

"Sergeant Banner was found dead this morning."

"What the hell happened?" Bella shouted.

"That's the thing," Yorkie shook his head, "They found him on Vincennes and Pershing. One of the nuns over by Holy Angels was making her usual morning rounds when she came across his body in the hallway of a housing project. One bullet to the head and one to the chest. Looks like it was at point blank range."

The information settled in for a moment and quickly led to shock. Just the day before she was sitting in Banner's office confirming the transition of the Tanner case. Now he was sitting in the city morgue, "Who would do something like this?"

Yorkie scowled, "No idea, all I know is that I would love to be one of the detectives assigned to this case. There is going to be a lot of pressure there to bring in the bastard who did this. I want to that down that fucking cop killer."

It was not the first time Bella had lost a colleague, but this was different. Banner was not on the street making enemies with the local thugs, he was in the office giving directives. Unless he had an enemy who held a grudge for the fifteen years that he had been sitting behind a desk, she was at a loss to think of who had the motivation to kill him. It also made the realities of her job that much more apparent. If Banner could be killed, no one was safe.

Something else did not fit right in the scenario, "It just doesn't make sense. Why was Sergeant Banner all the way down in the Ida B Wells project? That's clear out on the south side of Chicago."

"I don't know Swan, but I am hoping they call me in for this case to find out. They have only been on location for less than an hour, but from what I heard there was no blood splatter. It sounds like they killed him somewhere else and dropped his body off."

For the first time since Bella walked in the room, she surveyed everyone in there and noticed one glaring absence, "Has Volt been called in yet?"

"Yeah, he's here," Yorkie fidgeted, "He's meeting with the Superintendent."

"The Chief is here? What's going on?" Bella's eyes filled with worry.

"Not sure, they haven't come out yet. But if I had to wager a guess, you might be losing your partner."

"What do you mean, he hasn't done anything wrong!"

"No, no, nothing like that," Yorkie sat uncomfortably under the gaze of Bella, "I just think he might be getting that promotion a little earlier than expected."

It all clicked. Their boss was dead; of course they would need a replacement. If the Chief was here, they would likely be looking to fill an interim position, and there had been talk for a while that Volt was on the short list once Banner retired.

Banner was dead and Bella was losing the only partner she had ever known. This on top of all of her personal problems weighed on her heavily.

"Thanks Yorkie. This is just so overwhelming."

"No problem," Yorkie put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey, chin up. We have to all stick together more now then ever. We're going to catch whoever did this and make sure they pay. No one messes with Chicago's finest and gets away with it."

"Your absolutely right."

Bella walked to her desk and hoped to immerse herself in work as a momentary distraction from everything that was falling apart around her. She unlocked her drawers to pull out the Tanner case files and continue writing her transition, but instead sat in confusion.

The case files were missing.


End file.
